The Return of the Darkness
by fmfan1980
Summary: Millennia before the Great Shinobi Nations, before Kaguya, and before the God Tree, there was a war between the warriors of light and demons. The Light won and sealed away the Queen of the demonic horde that nearly annihilated humanity. Years later, it would be the Fourth Shinobi War that broke its seal. And now the Queen has risen once again. And it is hungry. (Alternate Universe)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and its associated works do not belong to me. I'm just playing in the sandbox created by Masashi Kishimoto.

 **Konoha, two and a half years after the Fourth Great Shinobi War.**

Music was playing in the large hall where the wedding reception was being held- soft, gentle tunes that fit perfectly for the first dance between husband and wife. Naruto, one of the heroes of the Fourth Shinobi War, looked on with his bright blue eyes and a small smile on his face as his very first, and only, crush- who was wearing a bright blue kimono and other accessories- was led to the dance floor in the hall a few steps away from the Hokage Tower. It was his best friend, the very man who was once considered by others to be a traitor to the village of Konoha- a former A-rank international criminal- and someone who had known nearly the same pain as Naruto had his entire life. He was a man that Naruto never gave up on no matter the cost to himself, he was another Hero of the war- a fact that helped in his release from prison, after a year, before he left on a journey of self-discovery and redemption.

He was Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto had never seen him smile with the warmth that he was giving Sakura as they began to dance. Naruto knew that his heart should have broken when Sasuke, after returning to Konoha from his journey of redemption nearly six months ago, was waiting for him in the corridor in front of his apartment.

"I'm going to ask Sakura for her hand,"

Naruto realized, after he was told about what Sasuke wanted to do, that he must have looked like a fish out of water with his mouth formed into an 'O' shape and his eyes wide open in shock. Sasuke, on the other hand, simply looked calm and collected- at least that was what he was trying to portray. Naruto could see how tense his best friend's shoulders were when he said those words to the blonde.

"I know you've had a crush on her since the Academy," Sasuke continued as Naruto looked away and towards the floor, and then back up to the dark eye staring back at him- the other eye… the Rinnegan was covered by jet black hair, "I thought it would be appropriate if you were the first person I told."

Naruto closed his eyes and took in a deep breathe. His heart was pounding- he felt an emptiness start to form before he shook his head and a smile formed on his face. 'Sakura was a crush. She was, and is, someone I care deeply about. But she was a crush… just a crush', Naruto thought to himself as the sounds of chirping birds flew past underneath the brightly lit sky while a warm breeze brushed through the corridor where the two Shinobi stood facing each other.

"You do realize that all you have to tell her is…," Naruto then made an utterly terrible impression of Sasuke when he continued, "let's get married." The blonde then smirked staring at his friend and rival, who was himself mumbling that he didn't sound anything like the way Naruto portrayed.

"Yes, I know," Sasuke said as the left side of his mouth twitched upwards, "I think she'd still prefer the gesture. Dope."

"Teme'," Naruto growled, narrowing his eyes, while putting his hands behind the back of his head and stared at Sasuke. A grin soon formed on his face while a small smile appeared on Sasuke's face. Naruto then stepped forward, "I care about Sakura-chan very much, Sasuke," Naruto started taking another step before he continued, "she doesn't have any brother or sisters, so…" the blonde Jinchuriki stopped and raised his hand, pointed it at Sasuke while making a fist, "if you hurt her feelings in any way.. then I'm gonna come and beat you to a pulp, Dattebayo!"

"I know," Sasuke nodded his head.

Naruto then stepped forward again with his arms by his sides. Once he was closer, the blonde extended his right hand- still wrapped in bandages- and shook the hand that Sasuke extended.

'And now, here we are,' Naruto thought as more and more of their mutual friends from what remained of the Konoha 11, along with some of the other Jonin and Chuunin; the current Hokage Kakashi; Tsunade who was sitting at her table with a cup of Sake in her hand as she stared at the dance floor with reddened cheeks; then there was Shizune who happened to be dancing with Kakashi, and many others were on the dance floor with the wedded couple. And that included Sakura's parents. Naruto turned back towards the drunk former Hokage and chuckled before he looked back at the drink on his table.

And the smile that had been on his face was slowly wiped off. He was happy for Sakura and Sasuke, he was happy that everyone else was having a good time. But there was a loss in his heart that he couldn't begin to really understand. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he couldn't fill the hole in his very being. Yes, he would be genuinely happy most times… but when that moment of happiness faded away, the emptiness would return.

Naruto knew that he would feel that emptiness again tomorrow. He simply knew it, and he feared it. He didn't want it in his life.

"This could have been us," a female voice whispered. Naruto's eyes widened and he slowly turned his head towards a sight he never expected. A dark blue haired, pale eyed beauty in a blue off-shoulder dress sat down next to him. Naruto's eyes went wide in surprise as he took in the sight of the woman who crossed her legs and stared at the people on the dance floor. The woman, a smile on her face, turned her head toward Naruto and leaned forward with a blush on her cheeks, "I… I…"

"Hinata?" Naruto whispered as the music continued to play. He then snapped his head towards the dance floor and saw that he couldn't connect his eyes with any of his teammates, or any of the other people on the dance floor. He then turned to Tsunade; he was about to wave his hands at the woman… but before he could, Naruto saw the buxom blonde lean forward before her head slammed onto the table.

"I… I suppose Tsunade-sama can't… can't take her drinks," Hinata chuckled before she turned back towards the stunned Naruto. The blonde shinobi turned towards the dance floor again and tried to connect his eyes to someone, anyone. He tried to move, but he couldn't… his friends were enjoying themselves too much, Naruto realized, before turning back towards the stunning Hyuuga Hinata sitting next to him, "you… you…." And Naruto knew in his heart that his friends didn't need to be saddled with his hang-ups, especially not this night. This was his issue to deal with for tonight.

"You… you can't be here… you…" Naruto gulped as a memory flashed in his mind, "you're…"

"I'm here because you needed me, Naruto-kun," she said without a stutter as she looked away, and towards the dance floor, and then back to Naruto once again, "I wish things had gone differently. I… I told you how I felt and…" Naruto remembered facing off against Pein, followed by Hinata's confession when he was badly injured onceshe arrived to protect him. And then his mind went back to the battle against the Jubi in the second night of the recent war while he continued to stare at Hinata in her blue dress.

"Hinata!" Naruto remembered yelling as everything around him seemed to stop- the death, the destruction, the sound of screams from around him as people continued to die- after she stepped in to save both Neji and himself after the latter pushed him away from being impaled. There were so many deaths already by that that time, and Naruto saw the latest death.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji yelled as he and Naruto rushed to Hinata who was coughing up blood from her mouth while she fell onto her knees. She had used the Kaiten, a technique she was still learning, to block the wooden spikes that were being thrown by the Jubi… but she couldn't spin fast enough to protect Neji and Naruto. Three poles went through her body, and Naruto heard himself scream her name as he ran towards her during a lull in the battle.

"Get a medic!" he yelled while Neji used his Byakugan to search for Sakura, or any other available medic. Once he did find Sakura, he looked back at Naruto who was hugging Hinata, her head resting on his right shoulder while blood gushed down the sides of her mouth and onto his back. He saw blood blood gushing down her front- from the locations she was impaled- before looking down at the blood covered ground in shock. "Sakura! Sakura!" Naruto yelled as Hiashi, Hinata's father, jumped and stared stunned at the sight in front of him. Neji shoock his head, and then told his uncle that he knew where Sakura was, and that he was going to get her. Hiashi didn't nod his head, he simply stared at Hinata with eyes wet with tears. Neji, his vision also clouded from the tears in his eyes, heard an unintelligible whisper from Hinata before turned and then dashed for Sakura.

"And it was too late to do anything," Naruto whispered looking away from Hinata's eyes, his mind bringing him back to the present day in the reception hall. And then he thought back to his battle with Pein. Hinata attempted to save his life because she loved him. She also admitted as much on the second night of the war, "you…"

"Had to move on with my life," Hinata whispered looking straight into Naruto's eyes.

"That's a funny way of putting it for dying," Naruto shook his head before reaching out for the glass of wine on the table, grabbing it with his hands, and then gulping it down. He heard Hinata chuckle as he put the glass back down onto the table. Naruto then turned back to what he believed was the image of Hinata that existed only in his memory, "I guess you're here because…"

"You feel alone?" Hinata finished his sentence with a smile on her face while Naruto turned back towards the dance floor. He lifted his glass and nodded his head at Sakura who was looking back at him with a smile on her face, while dancing with Sasuke.

"Times like this make me feel alone," Naruto whispered as Sakura closed her eyes and lay her head on Sasuke's chest, "I wonder if I'll feel like this when the others start pairing off and marrying."

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered as she reached out and placed her left hand on Naruto's bandaged right hand laying on the table. It was the physical contact from a dead girl… a girl he thought was a figment of his own imagination, that Naruto snapped his head back to the warm hand laying on his own hand. He moved his head, mouth agape, and stared up towards Hinata's eyes which were staring back at him, "I wish this was our wedding. I wish that we had a chance and… I wish that I could have given you a family."

"Hin…. Hinata?" Naruto, his heart beating fast, 'how can I feel your hand?' he thought while saying, "why… why can I feel…."

"We always feel the souls of the people we love," Hinata whispered with tears in her eyes as she leaned forward, "even if the other has gone away from this world."

"I…," Naruto stopped talking when his voice began to crack as memories flashed during the times Hinata said that she loved him, and through all the other times she had tried to show the love and affection she had for him, "I wanted… I… I wanted to say that…" The song playing in the background started to fade away, as did the people. And all that remained in the room was himself and Hinata, the both of them looking into each others eyes.

"I love you," Hinata whispered as she leaned forward after Naruto shifted his body to face her, "I have always loved you."

"I love you too," Naruto whispered leaning forward while his mind swam with images of the times Hinata and he would spend together the times they went on missions. "I…." He focused on her lips- he was so mesmerized by her very presence.

" **Hey Kid!"** Naruto heard a gruff sounding voice in the background as he imagined his lips meeting with Hinata's warm, ruby red lips. Naruto, as he imagined kissing Hinata, knew he recognized the voice from somewhere, but he couldn't place it. As he stared at Hinata's inviting lips, he pushed the voice to the back of his mind. He wanted to focus simply on what it would be like to feel their lips together. **"Naruto! What are you…? Naruto! Your... our chakra, what are you doing?! Get away from it and…."** The gruff voice was suddenly gone as Naruto, his need for Hinata so deep while he imagined the look of happiness on her face after she sacrificed her life for his, leaned forward to kiss her.

'She sacrificed herself… she…' Naruto thought as her tongue slipped into his mouth. He felt her lips then kiss his jaw while whispering "I love you."

"I love you," Hinata whispered between kisses down from his ear and down the side of his neck. Naruto brushed his hand through the thick hair on the back of her head while feeling her hand rest on his chest. Hinata continued to whisper before she gently bit slightly into his neck.

"Hinata…" Naruto moaned, his whole body feeling a rush of pleasure as Hinata licked the area on his neck where she bit down earlier.

"I'm so hungry, Naruto," Hinata whispered before she bit down into his neck hard. Naruto opened his eyes wide as pain shot through his body before he yelled out in pain. He felt something sharp break through his chest and bite down into his heart. Naruto felt as if the world was going upside down. The last thing he saw was Tsunade sharply waking up from her drink induced nap, and then looking around confused, before her eyes settled down towards him.

Naruto saw her widening her eyes in surprise as he felt himself fall out of his chair and towards the floor.

"I'm hungry," Hinata's voice echoed in his mind as he felt himself getting weaker, "so very hungry."

Naruto heard distant yells- from men and women, and the sounds of people running. But they were fading away fast. Even the initial pain from his chest and neck was gone now.

"Hungry."

He heard that same female voice, Hinata's voice, once again as everything started getting dark.

"Hinata," Naruto whispered.

"You are mine, Naruto," Hinata's voice echoed even when he was shrouded in darkness, "so much life force. And I am so very hungry. I will feed, and then I will make you my Prince."

"Hin…"

"Shhhh," Hinata's voice echoed in the darkness, "rest. Let me feed, for I am hungry."

"So very hungry," the voice said again. And the voice continued on until it started to change, and Naruto felt himself lying on a soft bed.

"Hungry!"

"Ummmm," Naruto groaned as the voice of a female yelled while he felt himself being pushed by two pair of hands.

"Hungry!"

"Hungry!" a tiny voice yelled out. A voice sounding like that of a little girl.

"Old Man! Oi, Old Man… wake up!" the voice of a male, a boy, yelled out.

Groaning once again, Naruto opened his eyes slowly, only for his eyes to come into contact with two pairs of bright blue eyes looking back at him.

"See I told you shaking the Old Man would work," the blue-eyed male Blonde said looking at the shorter blue eyed and blue haired little girl. The blonde then looked back at Naruto with a frown, "you said you'll be making pancakes for Himawari before you have to… you know… do your stupid Hokage stuff. So don't you dare…"

"I remember, Boruto," Naruto said. He felt his heart ache at the fact that his son didn't seem to like him very much, 'can't be helped. I'm the Hokage, and the village is my responsibility now. But I wish I had more time to spend with him.'

"We'll be downstairs," Boruto huffed at Naruto before grabbing his sister's hand and turning around to walk away. Before he reached the door that led to the hallway outside, Boruto looked over his shoulder and said, "don't disappoint Himawari by sending one of your clones."

Naruto slowly sat up and looked over at his ten-year-old daughter, "I'll even make the monkey shaped ones." He then gave his children a thumbs-up and grinned, "Dattebayo!"

Himawari clapped and jumped up and down excitedly before she was led out by her twelve year old brother, who then close the door to the master bedroom. Naruto then sighed and rubbed the back of his head as he turned around towards the woman lying on the bed next to him. His wife and the mother of his children.

"He misses you Naruto," Hinata said with a smile as she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the short haired blonde who was her husband, "but we… and I mean all us… understand why you have to stay up late as Hokage."

"Wish I was home sooner though," Naruto whispered looked at the closed door, and then back to his wife, "well, I better go fix up breakfast."

Hinata nodded her head before Naruto leaned down and kissed her on her lips. After a few seconds, he pulled back and stared lovingly into her eyes.

"Go," Hinata laughed after he leaned back down and kissed her again, "I've got to get up too."

"Big day planned?" Naruto asked as he turned his body and moved to get off the bed.

"I have training with Hanabi, and then I have lunch with Kushina-san, and…"

"Oh, that reminds me," Naruto grinned turning around after putting on his toad-slippers, "dad's coming back from his diplomatic mission to Suna. How about dinner tonight with the entire family?"

"If you can get out of your duties for tonight, then sure," Hinata replied before smiling, "but can you? You know, get away from the office?"

"I was wondering how to spend more time with the kids, maybe I'll have one of my clones do the work… you know, anything that doesn't involve signing things," Naruto shrugged before continuing, "and I suppose Shikamaru can get involved more with the job. That should give me some time to spend with Boruto… maybe help with his training."

Hinata smiled and nodded her head, "but not Himawari. At least not now. We're living in peace with the other villages, so there's no war… for a long time I hope. So let her have her childhood for a few more years before we start training her."

"As we agreed, 'ttebayo." Naruto replied with a thumbs-up before he rushed out of the room yelling, "I need to pee!"

"SHUT UP, OLD MAN!" Boruto yelled from the downstairs kitchen while HImawari could be heard laughing.

With Hinata in the room alone as she got out of bed, no one saw the evil smirk on her face. No one saw the jet black eyes looking out the window to the Hokage monument in the distance. "I have been hungry for so long," Hinata licked her lips before getting up off the bed, "his life force is so delicious. So very delicious."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Reception Hall, Konoha.**

Ino internally sighed as she slow danced with Choji- they were the two of only three that didn't arrive with any dates for the wedding and the reception; with the third being Naruto. Not that Choji wasn't boyfriend material for Ino- the young man had already proved his valour many times over during what was now known as the Great War- and, as Ino thought to herself when they met at the wedding earlier that day - 'he looks good in a suit, even though…' Ino chuckled to herself when she first waved at Choji and Shikamaru as they talked with Naruto, 'well, he could lose a bit of the weight.'

And immediately Ino internal monologue told herself to shut up, 'he's already going out with that girl from Kumo… what's her name again? Oh right, Karui, he's dating her even though he doesn't think we know about it. Diplomatic mission nearly every few weeks? Yeah, sure.'

As Ino danced with her chubby teammate with a small smile on her face, she was very aware of the fact that she was one of the most sought-after women of what used to be called the Konoha Eleven- with the death of Hinata, that group was now referred to as the Ten. Ino knew that she herself was beautiful, smart, and her knowledge of her clan's techniques were second to none. In addition to also being a full-fledged Medic-nin who was almost on par with Sakura herself, she was proud of her sensory abilities. The only problem was that she still had feelings for Sasuke, however those had lessened somewhat over the years.

And with his marriage to Sakura, Ino knew he was out of the eligible bachelor market.

After Sasuke returned to the village after his self-imposed exile, he returned to Sakura. It was after the proposal to Sakura that Ino felt slightly depressed, and it was in that state that the widow of Yamanaka Inouchi discovered her daughter. And then they had a long talk that lasted for hours.

'Mom's right,' Ino thought to herself as she glanced at Sasuke and Sakura dancing in the middle of the dance floor, 'it was just a one-sided love.' Ino looked back to Choji who had a far-away look in his eyes.

"Hey, Choji," Ino said while gently slapping his shoulder, "you're dancing with one of the most beautiful girls in Konoha, and you space out?"

Choji then grinned before saying that he was thinking about something. And before he could finish what he wanted to say, Ino leaned in and smirked, "that red head from Kumo's coming soon, isn't she? I think the Chuunin exams are coming up again and well…." Ino chuckled at the redness spreading across Choji's cheeks, "and representatives from all the villages are coming here for a combined Chuunin exam."

"Yea… well…." Choji chuckled.

"Oh, come on, Choji," Ino smirked, "you really didn't think that I wasn't going to ask how its going between you and your girlfriend?"

"We're… we're okay," Choji stuttered looking away from Ino, "I mean I've gone up there a few times and she's been here and… yeah." Ino chuckled at the swirls on his cheeks that were highlighted due to his face turning red as a tomato.

"Don't let that one go, Choji," Ino's chuckle faded, and she had a serious look on her face. Choji looked back at her and his face now had a serious expression as well before nodding his head, "and don't wait." Choji grinned before he chuckled. Ino smiled and turned her head to look at Shikamaru and Temari dancing- the young man had a look of boredom on his face while Temari had a smirk while staring at her dance partner.

'The two of them are going to be good together,' Ino thought to herself before she turned towards Sasuke and Sakura while thinking, 'you're lucky, forehead. The first of our group to be married'. Ino then internally chuckled at the insults that the two girls had for the other- it was more like terms of endearment now, rather than insults, 'just like how Naruto calls Sasuke-kun 'Teme' and he calls Naruto 'Dope'.' Ino then turned towards Sai, who was dancing with another girl who was wearing a red shimmering dress. She recognized the girl as one from Iwagakure who fought alongside them in the war, but the blonde couldn't recall her name. She was, just as Temari, in Konoha as representatives for their villages so that they could pool their resources and carry out the Chuunin exams in Konoha later this year. The idea was that all the villages would hold the combined examination together in a village- the hosts rotating every year.

It was Kakashi's idea to further foster and cement the comradery built during the war.

Ino shook her head, her eyes moving away from Sai who she also had a slight crush on ever since he said she was pretty. Ino liked that moment, but ever since then, they haven't really talked since they didn't socialise together. Ino sighed again before turning towards Neji who was dancing with a fellow Hyuuga from the Main branch; the two of them were already engaged and scheduled to get married next month with the blessing of Hyuuga Hiashi. The poor man had lost his oldest daughter during the war, and Ino's heart went out to him and the younger Hyuuga Hanabi – the latter being the newest heiress to the Hyuuga Clan. As the thought of Hanabi, Ino chuckled at the thought of Sarutobi Konohamaru having a crush on the heiress.

It was then, while staring at Neji and the girl from the Main branch, that Ino saw out of the corner of her eyes, a shadow darting from one side of the far wall to another. Ino sharply turned her head, a motion that had Choji asking if she had seen something. He looked around finding nothing before turning back to Ino who looked all around her as a chill ran up and down her spine.

"Ino?" Choji asked, watching his teammate furrow her eyebrows as she looked around the room. But he was concerned when Ino ignored him. He turned his head towards where he thought Ino was looking, the far wall to the right off the raised dais where Sasuke and Sakura were married. But he didn't see anything. Choji turned his head back towards Ino and frowned as Ino scanned the immediate area with her eyes, even seemingly looking past him - and then through him - as she turned her head slowly from one side to another. "Ino?" he called out again.

But Ino had no response.

'What is this feeling?' she thought to herself; she didn't see the shadow again, neither did she feel any unusual chakra signatures. But she still felt as if there was something in the hall with them… something that was dark and dangerous. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up when Choji asked once again if there was something that bothered her.

Ino didn't answer again. Instead she shook her head, thinking to herself that it was simply her imagination. Ino then looked up to the worried expression on Choji's face, and the sides of her lips pulled up to give a smile that she knew would have any other guy weak on their knees. But Ino knew it wouldn't work with Choji, he and Shikamaru knew her too well… she knew that Choji was aware she was hiding something.

'But what was that shadow? It was just a dark shapeless thing… it didn't look like anything human at least or like any…' Ino then shook her head, 'maybe it was just my imagination', she thought before saying, "I just thought I saw something, Choji."

"What did you see?" Choji asked. Given the high-level officials in the reception- from some of the Council of Elders who were quick to forgive Sasuke, to the current Hokage, the former Hokage, Sasuke himself, and even Naruto who was considered one of the greatest heroes produced by Konoha – Choji knew that the ANBU were close by watching the reception with keen eyes for any signs of danger.

'If there's anything funny, the ANBU would intervene,' Choji thought to himself before saying in a whisper, "we have Konoha's heavy hitters here, Ino. And a few foreign dignitaries. Anyone tries anything funny, they'll have to deal with us."

"What I sensed was… was something dark," Ino whispered with a worried look on her face. Choji then scanned his immediate area with his eyes, but he saw nothing that was unusual or out of place. Turning back to Ino, Choji wondered if Ino was being upset at Sakura marrying the guy they both had a crush on, a boy that the both of them initially ended their friendship for before mending their relationship over time.

"Ino," he started to say as she looked around once again. "Ino," he whispered again. The platinum blonde turned her head back towards Choji who continued, "maybe it's just your imagination."

"Maybe," Ino whispered shrugging her shoulders. She sighed, thinking to herself that she should just enjoy herself.

Ino, leading Choji in the slow dance, had a brush with Shikamaru's shoulder. Ino looked over her shoulder and smirked at the pineapple haired Shinobi, "this is gonna be you and Temari next month." Shikamaru laughed nervously while Temari smirked before the latter said that Gaara would be coming a week before the wedding to meet with him.

"He will be coming with Kankuro," Temari said, "they want to have a heart to heart talk with Shikamaru," Temari then chuckled as a sudden cloud seemed to hang over Shikamaru.

"Troublesome in-laws," Shikamaru groaned.

"Ah yes," Choji jumped in, "the brothers protecting the sister speech."

"And in this case," Temari added, "two very dangerous brothers"

Choji and Ino laughed while Shikamaru hung his head before whispering, "troublesome." A few seconds later, he looked up at Temari and shrugged.

"Oh well, I was expected it," Shikamaru said, "I even expected that they'd wait until the last minute to have the 'speech'. I'm guessing to scare the crap out of me."

Temari, Choji, and Ino chuckled while Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders. The two of them moved away and Ino turned back to Choji. As she turned her head towards her teammate, Ino noticed Tsunade sitting by herself- her cheeks were bright red from drinking so much Sake that she smacked the side of her head onto the table. Turning her head back towards the woman she and Sakura shared as a Master, Ino was worried that there was something wrong, but a cursory sensing of the former Hokage's chakra told the younger blonde that Tsunade was simply taking a nap.

Smirking, Ino then turned her head and looked over Choji's shoulder at Naruto who was raising the glass in his hand towards someone in the crowd. Ino looked around and smiled at Sakura who was smiling back at Naruto before laying her head on Sasuke's chest.

Earlier, she had noticed Naruto turning down those women who asked him to dance with them; he said sheepishly that he was a bad dancer, and that he'd be stepping on their toes for most of the time. She overheard him saying, while laughing and scratching the back of his head, that others would be far better than him. By that time, Ino had already dancing with Shikamaru, and then with Kiba, and now with Choji.

'I haven't asked him for a dance,' Ino thought to herself as she looked at Naruto who looked as if he was talking to the empty chair next to him. Ino furrowed her eyebrows wondering it was just her imagination, or if he really was talking to the empty chair next to him. She spied as he looked around in surprise, before looking back to the chair, and then he looked around once again before turning back towards the empty chair. Ino then saw him take a deep breath before his lips moved, 'it's like he's talking to someone there.' Ino's eyes shifted towards the empty seat, 'I don't sense anything. Maybe…'

Ino continued moving while her eyes focused on the empty seat. She felt a chill permeate through her body. She could hear Choji whispering if she felt something after noticing she stopped leading their slow dance. Ino ignored the chubby shinobi, instead she now narrowed her eyes at Naruto- she looked on as he turned his head towards his hand laying on the table, and then up to the empty chair next to him. The look on his face was that of utter surprise.

"Ino?" Choji asked with worry in his voice. Ino realized that she must have seemed suspicious looking over his shoulder as Choji turned his head, and then body, towards where she was looking. The both of them watched, with Ino now rubbing her arms and hands because of the chill that seemed to be going through her.

"I…." Ino was about to say that she felt strangely cold… that it felt as if there was an unnatural chill in the air. But she stopped talking when she saw Naruto's lips moving again, it was as if he was speaking animatedly to someone on the empty chair next to him. And Choji had the same surprised reaction as well.

He watched Naruto speaking into thin air, "is it just me, or is Naruto talking to someone?"

It was then that Ino gasped, and Choji immediately turned back towards her before asking the wide eyed blonde, "Ino, what is it? Are you…"

The two of them were closer to Tsunade, turning towards her when her glass fell to the floor as she stood up with eyes wide open in stunned silence. Ino saw the glass shatter on the floor before another chill went through her body; and a wave of what can only be described as utter fear went through her chest. She started to tremble while turning back towards Naruto. Ino saw the short haired blonde grab his chest with one hand, and the side of his neck with the other. The expression on his face was that of intense pain as he slid from his chair.

And Ino's eyes wide in shock before she and Choji dashed towards their comrade sliding out of his chair.

Tsunade was the former Hokage, the strongest Shinobi in Konoha before resigning her position to Kakashi. Now, she was simply the Head of the Konoha Medical Corp and the Hospital; she was preparing her apprentice, Sakura, to take over those positions within the next few years so that she could go on a journey around the Great Nations, and the world outside. But for now, at the wedding of her apprentice to the former traitor, Sasuke, Tsunade she was laying forehead down, on the table. A sake bottle to her left, and a cup to her right. This was her fifth bottle, and she was already a little tipsy… but not drunk enough she couldn't feel a sudden shift in the air.

She immediately looked up, her eyes scanned her surroundings. She was in 'Hokage' mode as she focused on Naruto. She sensed something… it was something she couldn't explain as a chill went up and down her spine. Tsunade was a gambler… the Legendary Sucker they called her… but she was betting that something was wrong with the young man she considered a godson. She could feel something dark… something evil around the blonde Jinchuriki. And then his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he grabbed his chest.

Immediately, Tsunade was away. She dashed for Naruto as he fell to the floor. From the corner of her eyes, Tsunade could see Choji and Ino rushing towards Naruto.

"Cat, Wolf, Raven," Tsunade whispered as she rushed past the tables and chairs between her and Naruto. She was no longer Hokage, but she knew that the ANBU were watching everyone in the hall given the importance of the people present – particularly the presence of the representatives from the Sand and the Stone – and that meant they were required to take orders from a former Hokage; at least within reason. Even though they were at peace after the war, there was no way that the Sand and the Stone representatives should find out something happened to Naruto, 'it's too risky'.

Tsunade continued whispering as she reached Naruto, along with Ino and Choji, "I need a genjutsu now. One where sitting where I'm supposed to be, and Naruto's sitting at his chair drinking."

Tsunade then felt a tingling sensation which indicated the genjutsu was active. However, she knew that people who sensed active genjutsu's would recognize something was wrong. And in this particular crowd, she had to mainly worry about Sasuke and Kakashi, even though the latter didn't have his Sharingan anymore – the man was still able to sense and dispel high level genjutsu.

"Ino," Tsunade looked up into her blue eyes, "use your mind transmission jutsu and inform the Hokage of what's happening. After you inform the Hokage, contact Sasuke and tell him what's happened to Naruto… just tell him he fell of his chair and that I'm checking on him. If he asks why, then tell him it's to prevent a panic from the others if they see that Naruto mysteriously fell to the floor with some kind of an injury. Understand?"

"Yes," Ino nodded her head before turning towards Kakashi who was walking away towards the bar with his date. She made her hand seals before activating her jutsu. All the while, Tsunade reached down and felt for a pulse on the side of Naruto's neck.

"Naruto," Choji said, knowing that the others couldn't hear his voice thanks to the Genjutsu which simply showed everyone that Tsunade was unconscious after drinking her sake, and Naruto was watching everyone dancing. Choji then looked up to Tsunade who said that Naruto had a pulse, and added, "Tsunade-sama, Ino and I saw him grab his chest before he fell of his chair. He looked like he was in pain."

"I saw him grab his chest too," Tsunade said as she pushed aside the unease she was feeling, 'I'm tipsy, but this feeling I'm getting isn't from that. I've operated on patients while tipsy… but this is different. I'm feeling.. cold? Really cold… like something's walking on my grave.'

"I've sent a message to Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun," Ino said as she turned back to Tsunade. The former Hokage turned her head to stare into the eyes of the current Hokage, even thought they can't see one another. The grey-haired shinobi gave her a subtle nod before he turned his head towards Sasuke who was staring straight at Tsunade. The blonde turned towards the former nuke-nin and stared into his eyes, silently telling him not to do anything that would bring attention to whatever it is that happened to Naruto.

And then, he too subtly nodded his head. But he wasn't happy.

'I'm not happy either, kid,' Tsunade said before looking back down at Naruto who, simply looked as if he was sound asleep.'

"Tsunade-sama, we saw him talking to someone," Ino said, after which Tsunade snapped her head up to meet the Yamanaka's eyes, "someone who wasn't there."

"Someone who wasn't there?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes and then looked down at the young man's head. She put her hands over his head and released chakra very slowly – chakra meant to act as a diagnostic tool that would show her if there were injuries to Naruto's brain, 'something we missed during his last physical?' But there was nothing physically wrong with his mind, and then she felt something that was off. She stared confused at Naruto's head as she pumped slightly more chakra into his pathways, muscles, and circulatory system – and she had the same feeling.

"Tsunade-sama?" Choji asked when the former Hokage pulled away her hands and whispered to herself something unintelligible.

Tsunade looked back up at the two Clan heirs and said, "I felt my Chakra being pulled away from me."

"Pulled?" Ino asked.

"I felt my Chakra being pulled, along with Naruto's chakra to…" Tsunade shifted her eyes to an area just above Naruto's neck and chest, and then whispered, "here." She had her hand hovering just above Naruto's neck, and her hand slowly travelled down to his chest, only three inches above his heart, "and here." She then continued, "and not just that, I feel something here. As if the air is thicker like…"

"Hot sour soup?" Choji said as he placed his hand close to Tsunade's, "but I don't feel anything."

'What is this sense of….. dread?' Ino thought as she brought her hand down next to Tsunade's. She felt as if her cream coloured hand dove into seemed to be like a pool of thick, viscous liquid- except there was nothing she could see that would give her such a sensation. But as her arm entered this thick layer of air, Ino gasped out as an electrical charge seemed to travel from the thick layer of air; it travelled up through her skin, her flash, her bones, and then up to her spine. She felt the charge at the base at her neck as she pulled her head back and screamed while hearing Choji and Tsunade calling out for her. And then she was surrounded by blackness, and then Ino closed her eyes from the bright light as two holes opened in front of her.

"Eyes… I'm looking through someone's eyes," Ino was stunned as she stared at what could only be described as tears being ripped into the sky which had a pinkish hue as what looked and smelled like blood started to rain down, "there's no one here… who.. who eyes am I… what am I seeing?"

But before she could finish her thoughts, Ino felt something tighten around her throat.

'Fingers?' she thought to herself while hearing growls, followed by the sounds of screaming. In addition to feeling sharp nails digging into the skin covering the right side of her neck, she felt blood gushing out from the left side of her neck as well. The fingers were cold…. Very cold. "Help! Shika… Choji… Tsunade-sama," Ino yelled out as she stared out though the 'windows' while thinking to herself that this wasn't how any of her Clans jutsu's were supposed to work. They were supposed to make her mind part of the entire body… she could control it… do whatever she wanted. But now, she felt as if she was a passenger watching what was happening without interfering.

Hearing shallow breaths, Ino felt as if she was barely alive… or rather the body where she was a 'passenger' was struggling to breath.

Ino tried to raise her arms to grab the arm of the one holding her by the throat. But no matter her commands, her arms wouldn't move.

"Aarrrghh!" Ino heard several screams before they cut out with disgusting 'squelching' sounds.

As the stench of death- the stench of blood, guts, muscles- as the stench of war wafted into her nostrils, Ino wanted to become sick. She had been on the front lines of the Great War, but even that didn't feel like this. She felt terror. Pure and utter terror.

 _"I have won, Commander,"_ a female voice spoke - it was a pretty voice, that of nobility; but Ino sensed a chill behind it. Ino looked through the 'windows' as they shifted down from the sky to something that had her cover her mouth with her hands to stifle her gasp.

Ino was staring out at a female wearing black scaled armour with red accents down her sides – she could see blood, guts, and even pieces of brains stuck to the armour. The blonde kunoichi then stared at the jet-black eyes staring back at her, the lips red with fresh blood that was dripping down the sides of her mouth, the platinum blonde hair that was covered in blood; that was all Ino could focus on as she felt life leaving her body, 'but I'm still conscious'. The eyes then, at that moment, looked down at the rows of sharpened teeth as the armoured creature in front of her grinned. Ino stared in silent fear at the two razor-sharp fangs on the creature's upper jaw.

 _"Do not worry, Commander,"_ the creature smiled an evil smile that had Ino trembling as she stood surrounded by the darkness in the mind of whoever she was occupying. Ino saw the woman in front of her raise an arm up to her left side, and clenched her hand into a fist. Ino heard screams before several squelching sounds. But she couldn't turn the head of the body she was in… she could only stare at the monster in front of her, _"your soul will remain in me."_

'Soul? A soul will be in her? In it?' Ino whispered to herself as she stared at the creature while her heart raced.

 _"Humanity will be extinct,"_ the monster claimed, _"this world, like all the other worlds, belong to me. As it was always meant to."_

Ino wrapped her arms around herself as she shivered staring out the 'windows'.

 _"And I… Lilith, Queen of Darkness and Damnation will rule this world,"_ Ino breathed in and out as she felt a chill once again. She looked away from the 'windows' in front of her, and then looked around her darkened surroundings, and then back out through the 'windows', _"And then, I will bring more of my brood here. They will feed on the dead, just as I feed on life. And then… and then the universe… all life throughout this universe is mine to feed. Then I will move on to the next universe, and my next meal."_

Ino felt the creature release her throat, or rather the throat of the body she currently occupied. She felt herself falling and, before she knew it, the body fell sideways onto wet ground that stank of iron and bile. She fell on her side, the side of her head hitting the ground and sinking partly into the wet blood soaked mud. She saw the creature walk away, but not before it killed more and more people wearing sliver and cream coloured armour.

 _"Akashi,"_ Ino's eyes widened as she stared out the 'windows' upon hearing the whispering voice that echoed in the darkness. Ino saw the 'windows' slowly shifting towards a yellow haired man, partly covered in blood, in the distance who lay on his back over several other dead bodies. Ino saw that his armour torn to shreds… the flesh underneath the armour torn and bleeding, while his neck was ripped apart. Ino brought her hands to her mouth as she felt the woman- Ino could tell from the voice that it was a female -crawled through the blood red ground towards the man. Ino could feel the wet ground beneath her as the body she occupied crawled over other dead bodies while hearing "BOOMs!" and "ARRGHs!" all around her, followed by the sounds of bones breaking and steel being crumpled.

But Ino felt the urgency, the rage, and the sorrow of the woman as she continued to crawl towards the dead man, all the while feeling her strength being sapped away. As the woman crawled, Ino saw bodies that were definitely not human laying dead and bloodied round her – some of the bodies had no heads, but she could clearly see rows of broken teeth and tongues that were hanging out of hollows in their chests. Ino then saw other creatures that the woman crawled past, that had two heads with the body of a snake, or another that had mouths in their hands while their heads were made up of what seemed to be a metallic box surround by sharp spikes.

'What is this?' Ino's eyes widened as she looked away from the 'windows', 'What am I seeing? Some kind of war? A war against demons? Where is this happening? Or rather, when did it happen?'

 _"Akashi,"_ the voice echoed again within the darkness surrounding Ino.

'Who are you, Akashi?' Ino thought as the woman whose body she occupied, neared the dead body and reached out with a shaky and blood drenched hand. Ino felt the woman's emotions as tears welled up in her eyes while the hands of the woman, shaking as they landed on the left hand of the dead man, tightened.

Ino squinted as she stared at the man- his pale blue eyes staring back at her, eyes that didn't have any life in them. Ino gulped. It was then that she heard the sound of thunder in the distance. She heard what seemed to be the creature scream out, _"you are too late!"_ in the distance. Ino wanted to see what was happening, but the woman she was occupying continued to stare at the dead man before she used the last of her strength to crawl forward once more before she was looking directly down at the man named Akashi.

Ino heard the woman panting, her eyes just above the eyes of the dead man looking back at her. This close to the man, Ino ignored the stench of blood and opened her mouth to pant as she shook her head.

'What kind of a joke is this?' Ino thought to herself as the woman leaned forward, her forehead resting against the dead man's, a man who looked just like Naruto- at least how he would have looked without any whisker marks on his face.

 _"She… she said that… that my soul will be in her…"_ the woman whose mind Ino occupied ground out through her lips while the sounds of heavy battle roared in the distance, _"I'll see you there, Akashi. I'll see you there, my love."_

'Love?' Ino shook her head, 'what the hell is this?' Suddenly there was a great roar in the distance. Ino wanted to turned the body's head to see what was happening, but she couldn't. She was stuck with her forehead resting against the Naruto look-a-like, Akashi. Ino felt the body's strength getting weaker and weaker. She felt more of a chill now than before.

 _"Keep on her!"_ a woman's voice yelled over the sounds of thunder and what sounded like crackling wild fire, _"don't stop! We seal her here and now!"_

"I want to see what's going on!" Ino yelled out as she stared out the woman's eyes which were already starting to lose focus.

And suddenly, there was silence.

 _"She did it, Akashi,"_ the woman whispered, her forehead still pressed down against the man's forehead. However, Ino was staring out though what looked like white haze, _"it's over… it's over. But she has us now. She has us and… and…"_

 _"Find survivors!"_ a male voice yelled out in the distance, _"get the medics here now! Move! Move!"_

Ino didn't recognize the voice. She could already feel the woman's life fading away, and just then, she could hear other more familiar voices coming from the darkness surrounding her.

"Choji carry Ino!" Ino heard Tsunade order - her voice emanating from the surrounding darkeness.

"Hai," Ino heard Choji say while the woman whose eyes she was staring out off was starting to take her last breathes as she gasped for air.

"I don't see anything physically wrong with Naruto, so carrying him back to the hospital won't be a problem," Ino heard Tsunade say.

"Tsunade-sama, Choji!' Ino yelled out into the darkness.

But there was no response.

 _"Reana!"_ Ino looked back out at the woman's eyes. She felt as if someone was moving the body. Ino watched the hazy view through the woman's eyes shift as the body was turned onto her back. Ino could see the clouds parting away, the tears in the sky closing, and the fight signs of sunlight breaking through. And then the woman's eyes shifted, and Ino stared in awe at the face staring back at her.

 _"Gen… General,"_ the woman, Reana, who body and mind Ino now assumed she was occupying, croaked out, _"d… did… we… we… win?"_

 _"We won,"_ the older blonde-haired woman said as tears stared to slowly stream down her blood-stained cheeks, the warm tears cutting through the still wet blood, _"we won… they are all dead. They dropped dead the moment Lilith was sealed away and…"_

 _"G… good,"_ Reana whispered as Ino stared with a sense of loss as she placed her right hand on her chest. She saw the older woman, this General, get down on both knees while yelling out for a medic. Her voice cracking every time she called out for someone to help. The General then looked down with wet, puffy, red eyes, and leaned down before she yelled out in rage.

 _"Get me a fucking medic now!"_ she yelled out once again.

 _"Gen… G…"_ tears streamed down Ino's face as she felt the full blast of emotions from Reana, _"mo… moth… mo… mother, we won."_

Ino's closed her eyes and wiped her tears before opening them and staring out at the General.

 _"I… I… I.. can… can…"_ And then everything turned dark. Ino heard a rage filled scream as she closed her eyes. She knew what the woman, Reana, was going to say- that she was going to be with Akashi. Suddenly she heard Choji asking why she was crying, and Ino snapped her eyes open to stare back at the eyes of the Akamichi which were filled with concern.

"You.. you guys," Ino whispered as she sat up panting. She looked around- she saw everyone still dancing, however there was a look of concern on the face of Sasuke who was staring right back at her before looking back down at Sakura. Ino shook her head before smiling at Choji who placed his hand on her upper back to keep her stable.

'Okay,' Ino thought, 'I'm back in the reception hall.' Ino then turned her head and looked at Naruto. She stared confused at the blonde, and then her eyes immediately shifted away towards Tsunade staring back at her with worry etched on her face.

"Ino, what happened?" Tsunade asked.

'She looks so much like her,' Ino thought as she thought back to the woman she heard Reana refer to as 'General'. She continued, 'the eye colour is colour is the same, even the facial features… they are all the same, except for the seal mark on Tsunade-sama's forehead. What did I see?'

"Tsu... Tsunade-sama," Ino said shaking her head before continuing, "how.. how long was I…"

"You screamed, closed your eyes, fell back, and then you woke up… all in the space of three seconds," Choji said. Ino stared at him with surprise. To her, it had seemed longer.

"Ino, what happened?" Choji asked.

"I.. I don't know," Ino replied as she wiped her eyes, "I.. saw some things that… that I can't explain."

It was just then that Ino felt a tremble throughout her body- she felt fear. Ino felt a chill go through her spine. It was just then that Tsunade too snapped her head towards Naruto, and then back at Ino with her eyebrows furrowed. The both of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Tsunade said, "Choji, carry Ino."

"Tsunade-sama," Ino shook her head, "I can make it on my…"

"You just fainted," Tsunade gently said before looking at Choji, "carry Ino. I'll carry Naruto. We're going to the hospital right now."

"Okay," Ino whispered as Choji carried her in his arms while Tsunade had Naruto in hers, "but Tsunade-sama, there's something I need to tell you and the Hokage. Something I saw or… I mean, I mean I don't know what I saw… but…" Ino was unsure of what to call what she experienced. So instead she continued, "I saw something that's… well, not normal."

"After you get checked out, we'll talk," Tsunade said, "mentally contact Kakashi, tell him to meet us at the hospital once this reception is over."

"If anyone asks about Naruto and Ino?" asked Choji.

"Naruto got a little sick from the sake, and Ino… well… you felt some pain in your chest which I'll diagnose as heart burn. Choji took you to the hospital the same time I took Naruto," Tsunade said, "okay with you lot?"

"Yes, ma'am," Ino and Choji said before the former sent a message to Kakashi through her jutsu. The grey haired Hokage nodded his head and then got back on the dance floor. Once the jutsu was over, Ino nodded her head, signifying the message was sent.

"Let's go," Tsunade said before the four of them took off.

'Naruto,' Ino thought staring at the unconscious Naruto as Choji and Tsunade kept pace while they were jumping from one rooftop to another; the fasted route towards the hospital, 'what's happening to you?' She turned her head away from Naruto and slightly shivered, 'what is this feeling of dread?'

TBC.


	3. Chapter 3

**Konoha.**

While music continued to softly play from the speakers that were spaced evenly high up on the walls of the Reception Hall, Sasuke watched as Tsunade and Choji picked up Naruto and Ino respectively before making their way out the door to their right. The door led to a hallway, and then if someone turned left again, they would see an emergency exit. Sasuke was sure they had taken that exit.

Glancing down, he felt Sakura lay her head down against his chest, her arms were around him while his arm, his one arm was around her shoulder. He knew he didn't deserve her, not after everything he had done, but she accepted him back. Naruto accepted him back. Sasuke looked back up and gently lay his chin on top of Sakura's head as he stared at the genjutsu version of Naruto simply taking a drink as he sat alone at the table. At the same time, the orders that Tsunade relayed through Ino when the latter used her family's jutsu still rang in his head.

"Don't tell anyone that Naruto's injured… or rather unconscious, Sasuke-kun," Ino had said while Sasuke slow danced with Sakura. "Tsunade-sama wants you and the Hokage to remain calm, go about your reception party, and then when everyone has gone home, you, forehead, and Hokage-sama are needed at the hospital."

He stared at Ino, locked his eyes with hers, and subtly nodded his head.

And then the four of them were gone.

Sasuke looked back down at Sakura who looked back up at him. Onyx eyes met green orbs before he leaned forward, his bottom lip just above the edge of the blue coloured seal on her forehead, and gently kissed her forehead. His entire life after leaving the village was one of hurt – for himself and for the people he left behind in Konoha. Sasuke still remembered that fateful clash against Naruto two and a half years ago at the Valley of the End. The final attack that obliterated their arms connected them in a way that was ethereal. The two of them experienced each other's lives… saw each other's memories – it was then that Sasuke realized what Naruto had been through. It was then that Sasuke realized no matter what he did – no matter the threats he made against Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, or even Konoha – Konoha's number one hyperactive knucklehead shinobi never changed his views about Sasuke.

Not even once.

And now, something mysterious had happened to the one person who kept faith with him for all those years. Sasuke looked back up at the Naruto drinking on the chair, his hand on the table grabbing a glass, and then he then looked over at Tsunade, her face flat against the top of the table, 'another Genjutsu.'

He looked over at Kakashi, and Sasuke could see the tension around his body as he stood at the bar, looking away from his while holding a glass of wine in his hand. The Hokage just stood leaning against the bar, as if he was at ease with himself and enjoying the party atmosphere. Sasuke's eyes shifted towards Shizune who stopped next to him. Sasuke saw Kakashi nodding his head while placing a hand on Shizune's shoulder. Shizune nodded her head, and then reached for and grabbed his drink. The current Hokage turned around and for an instant, their eyes locked. And in that one instance, Kakashi made the seal for a Kage Bunshin before heading towards another door that led to a hallway in the rear. Beyond that door were the washrooms; 'he's going to send a Kage Bunshin to the hospital', Sasuke thought. He glanced at Kakashi going through the door and then closing it behind him, and a few seconds later, the Hokage strode back into the hall. Their eyes met once again, and Sasuke saw the discrete nodding of the head, 'and the Kage Bunshin has been sent.'

He saw Kakashi put away the glass onto the bar counter and then, while arm in arm with his date for the evening, Shizune, he stepped back onto the dance floor. Sasuke could see his old sensei giving a small smile underneath the mask to Shizune, but the smile never met his eyes.

'He's worried,' Sasuke thought. And so was he. From what he was told by Ino, Naruto simply fell unconscious. No rhyme or reason, 'maybe they'll find something at the hospital.' He then looked back at Kakashi who was looking at the stunning Shizune, but his eyes were staring past her in a far off place.

The both of them were helpless for now – the current circumstances adding to their powerlessness in helping the one common person between them; Naruto. Silently in agreement that Naruto's mysterious injury should be hidden away from the dignitaries, Sasuke was also was very aware that no matter what, Sakura would be hurt knowing that she was having the time of her life while the young man she had grown very close to was in the hospital.

On the other hand, Sakura would be hurt and furious if she was told after the reception. There was no good time to tell Sakura. And then there was the order given to him to ensure Sakura was enjoying her wedding reception.

'Naruto was there for me, even when I was blinded by vengeance and rage,' Sasuke thought as he took his hand off Sakura's shoulder and gently brushed away the pink hair that covered her neck and ears. To anyone watching, it would seem as if Sasuke was leaning down to kiss the Kunoichi on her neck, and then whisper sweet nothings into her year. It was what Shikamaru thought, it was what Kiba thought, what Lee and Tenten thought… but what was happening was something different.

But at the same time, it was also his responsibility to take up his brother's cause… to protect Konoha and prevent war from breaking out. He, more than anyone, realized how fragile the peace that they had. If anyone found out that something happened to Naruto… that he somehow mysteriously got injured, then the balance of power between villages could shift. And bringing with that shift a possibility for another conflict. That was the worst-case scenario, the best case was that everyone would be concerned for the blonde ninja. Sasuke wanted to whisper that Naruto was in the hospital into Sakura's ears, but decided against it at the last minute.

Instead, he whispered, "I love you." And Sakura sighed in contentment.

'Forgive me, Sakura,' Sasuke thought to himself as he danced with a heavy heart at the thought of his friend being in pain, and the thought of Sakura giving him a look of anger mixed with sorrow if anything happened to befall Naruto while all of them were enjoying themselves. 'But Tsunade is right, the fragile peace is in danger. We'll go directly to him after the reception… and I'll apologize the entire way if I have to. For now, we have to keep the peace.'

 **Konoha Hospital, a few minutes later.**

"Tsunade-sama," Kakashi's shadow clone said appearing next to the former Hokage after a shunshin from the reception hall. He glanced over at Naruto, and then at Ino who was in Choji's arms – the young woman's eyes fixed on Naruto for a few moments before looking away, "What happened?"

"It'll be better if I tell you once we get Naruto into a room," Tsunade said as they leaped over one building to the next, "all I can tell you is that both Ino and I have been getting this creepy feeling…"

"Creepy?" Kakashi asked, eyes narrowed.

"I pushed some healing chakra into his body to search for any injuries or chakra blockages at the reception after he collapsed," Tsunade explained as they neared the hospital, "but I felt my chakra being siphoned away instead."

"How is that possible? Siphoned to where?"

"I don't know," Tsunade shook her head, "all I know is that it was being siphoned out through his neck and his chest… out through his heart in particular."

Kakashi stared at his former student and grew concerned. Even he could feel an uneasy feeling around him- he suspected it was the same feeling of 'creepiness' that Tsunade had been feeling as well. His eyes shifted back down to Naruto's unmoving body and then back up to Ino, "what happened to Ino?"

"I think she had some kind of a vision that really unsettled her," Tsunade said as the group landing outside the emergency entrance of the hospital, "she said she saw something that she needs to talk to us about."

It would be several minutes later that Naruto was placed into a private room with him being entered under a pseudonym, Yamada Arashi. In the meantime, Kakashi waited outside with the unconscious Naruto in his arms while Tsunade and Ino, who insisted on walking, went up to the room and opened a window. Once the window was open, a signal was given to Choji from Ino, and then Kakashi with Naruto and the Akimichi heir rushed up the side of the hospital and entered the room through the window.

Once Kakashi placed Naruto on the hospital bed, Choji closed the window and Tsunade activated the privacy seals. Once the seals were activated, Ino sat on the couch in the room and rubbed her temples while Choji was standing next to Naruto's bed. He was looking at the Jinchuriki in worry before turning his head towards Ino who was now leaning back against the couch.

"Ino, are you okay?" Choji asked.

"Yeah," she nodded her head, her eyes shifting towards Naruto, "it was strange though."

"Ino, can you tell me exactly what you saw and felt?" Kakashi leaning against the window sill asked while he was watching Tsunade open up the front of Naruto's shirt before grabbing some chakra tags – chakra sealed into tags that were used by medics on the field and doctors in the hospital – that she grabbed earlier. Tsunade placed the tags on Naruto's neck and chest while Ino was about to begin telling them what she felt, when suddenly the tags glowed before there were sparks that showered out from the tags. That led to Tsunade leaping backwards, as did Choji while a surprised Kakashi asked what just happened.

"The chakra in the tags are meant to slowly penetrate the patient's body," Tsunade said once the sparks died down and she rushed to Naruto's side before grabbing the blackened pieces of paper and pulling them off his chest. She stared at the tags in surprise before making a fist, crumbling the papers, "to keep patients alive while medics work on their injuries. It's a slow release tag and… and it's chakra was forcibly sucked out." Tsunade then stared at Kakashi, "and that is something that's impossible."

"Unless…" Choji asked, "there's some way that chakra's being sucked out of Naruto?"

"Ino," Kakashi frowned while his eyes were fixed on Naruto, his eyes making sure that the blonde young man was still breathing. He then turned his head towards the aforementioned platinum blonde female and asked, "what did you see?"

"I saw so much destruction," Ino whispered as she leaned forward and stared at Naruto while Tsunade started to hook the blonde Jinchuriki up to a monitor. Kakashi and Choji turned towards her while Tsunade glanced at the blonde mind-walker while hooking up metallic leads to Naruto's chest, and then to the both sides of his head. Once the leads were attached, the motor was then activated. And as the 'beep-beep' of Naruto's steady heartbeat permeated the room, Ino continued, "I didn't understand what I was seeing. It… it was like I was watching what was happening from someone else's eyes."

"Do you know whose?" Tsunade asked as she gently placed a hand on Naruto's forehead.

"No," Ino said, "I felt as if my hand was going through something… it was like a thick liquid… and then I found myself being held by the throat."

"You mean that based on the viewpoint of this person you were in?" Kakashi asked.

"Yea," Ino replied before giving the three of them the details of her experience. So say that they were confused was an understatement; especially since the scale of whatever war it was that Ino was talking about would have been documented. Ino didn't mention the body she was in crawling towards the young man who looked like a whisker less Naruto, nor did she mention the woman at the end of her vision who looked like Tsunade, 'it's already weird enough.'

"Demonic looking beings huh?" Kakashi whispered after Ino was done.

"That was a creepy vision," Choji said, his face paling as he thought about the destruction described by Ino.

Tsunade looked down at Naruto, and then back at Ino before saying, "Lilith huh?"

"That's what she… or it… called herself," Ino whispered looking up at Tsunade, "she looked like… well, she looked like a monster in armour with fangs.. sharp, sharp fangs. I could feel terror and… and it wasn't like how I felt during the war. I mean going up against white zetsu's, the Juubi, and the two Uchiha's was scary but… but what I felt…" Ino brought her arms around herself as goosebumps erupted on her arms, "what I felt was terror. Pure terror."

"Queen of darkness and damnation," Kakashi whispered before turning once again to look over at Naruto.

"And Ino was in the mind of a Commander?" Choji whispered.

"That's what Lilith said," Ino nodded her head before instinctively bringing her left hand up to the left side of her neck where blood in her vision was flowing out from, "whoever this person is… well… I think she died." Ino then sighed, "I know it sounds nuts but… but that's what happened."

"I'll have the research department look up on anything we have that is related to this Lilith," Kakashi said as he looked over at Ino, "is there anything else? Like a location, or…"

"I didn't see anything that was identifiable," Ino shook her head, "the only thing I saw was the ground littered with human and demonic bodies, and blood…. There was so much blood." Ino took a deep breath as she scoured her memories of what she had seen in her vision for any landmark in the surrounding area, but there was nothing.

Kakashi then sighed, "I'll head off to the Research Department and have them start off on discovering who or what this Lilith creature is. In the meantime, I'll suggest Choji head back to the reception and discretely talk to Neji about coming to the hospital to check on Naruto's chakra flow."

"Understood, Hokage-sama," Choji nodded her head.

"And in the meantime," Tsunade said nodding at the tired Ino, "I'll make sure Ino's alright."

Kakashi nodded his head before he opened the window, and then jumped away leaving Tsunade huffing as she strode to the open window, closed it, and then turned back towards Choji. "Choji, Ino's absence can easily explained, but Naruto's absence, now that I think about it, is going to be a little harder even with the excuse we have ready."

"So what do we do, Tsunade-sama?" Choji asked.

"When you get back to the reception, tell Neji to get here as soon as possible," Tsunade said, "and then go to Kakashi, tell him that I'd advise asking Konohamaru to transform into Naruto for the rest of the reception. Then remind Kakashi to dispel the genjutsu."

"Understood," Choji said nodding his head.

"Tell Kakashi to get here after the reception is over, I have a feeling that whatever Neji's going to tell us will be bad news," Tsunade continued.

"I will, Tsunade-sama," Choji said before he turned and rushed out of the room.

"Tsunade-sama," Ino said as she leaned back on the couch, "I'm feeling a bit better now. I think it was the shock of seeing…. Well, through the eyes of whoever this Reana person is supposed to be."

"I'll still want to check your vitals," Tsunade said walking toward her, "let's go into the adjacent room." She the looked over her shoulder at the body of Naruto and the machines that were hooked up to him before looking back at Ino, "if there's anything unusual that happens in the next ten minutes while I examine you, then I'll know." Tsunade then reached out and help Ino to her feet, "come on, lets go."

The two of them headed for the door which Tsunade slid open. Just before they two of them stepped out into the hallway, Ino looked over her shoulder at Naruto who looked as if he was at peace. But the Yamanaka heiress still couldn't help but shudder – she felt as if something was about to happen.

Something that they couldn't stop. Ino followed Tsunade as she turned her head back towards the front. Tsunade had just stepped out into the hallway and Ino had just stepped over the threshold between Nauto's room and the hallway – her body between the doorframe when she started to feel dizzy.

"Ino!" yelled Tsunade rushing towards her; all the blonde Yamanaka felt, before being overcome by darkness, was her body impacting the cold hospital floor. And then her eyes closed.

"NOOOO!" Ino snapped her eyes open as the yell from a male voice was suddenly cut off. She opened her eyes wide as she slowly got up on her feet after lying on a pathway covered in blood. She smelt the iron from the deep red blood all over her body, she felt the sickening slickness of the liquid on her arms and covering her purple top, her midriff, and her skirt. While the feeling of blood on her was sickening, what was even more sickening – or rather, more nightmarish was the sight on front of her. Konoha was burning – fires were everywhere as screams and shouts of "help!" were suddenly and quickly snuffed out. Ino turned her head around, she scanned the area in front of her before looking up at the red coloured sky. "Dear God," she whispered as she stared in horror at the tears in the sky, 'like the dream… no.. like that memory from earlier…' In disbelief about what was happening, many questions were running though Ino's mind as she looked away from the sky before turning her body around to take in the nightmare around her.

Gasping, Ino brought her hands to her mouth to stifle her sob as tears ran down her cheeks, the warm tears causing the still wet spatters of blood on her face to streak down her cheeks.

"Shika!" Ino yelled as she ran towards the bisected body of the shadow user lying on the blood covered ground, his eyes lifeless as they stared out into nowhere. "Shika!" she yelled out as she went down on her knees and, with trembling hands, reached out for her teammate.

"Ino!" she spun around, her hands out and ready for battle as she gritted her teeth on anger. However, the anger was abated when she saw who it was running towards her.

"Sakura!" she yelled. Ino got up to her feet and ran towards the pink haired woman. She could see Sakura limping towards her, a look of horror in her face as she waved at Ino.

"Move!" Sakura yelled as Ino suddenly felt a great fear permeate her body. She though she saw the shadows moving around her, especially around the fire and destruction that surrounded them among the bodies of other Konoha citizens. Ino didn't know what was going on, but the look on Sakura's face told her it was nothing good – the second strongest Kunoichi running away from something was never a good sign – and Ino felt the same fear she knew Sakura was feeling. She watched the shadows continue to move as she turned to run, Sakura close behind her.

"Ino move…. Argh!" Ino turned back, her eyes widened in terror as she stubbled back and landed on the bloody ground. She saw a figure slam into Sakura when she was about a meter away, the screams that escaped Sakura's lips were one of horror and pain as the figure roared out loud before ravaging her.

"SAKURA!" Ino yelled as the figure tore off the screaming Sakura's flesh; it was when her throat was ripped out that the pink haired woman stopped screaming. Ino was panting hard as several more shadows converged on the location of the figure that murdered Sakura… she could still hear the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart with occasional 'slurp' noises being made. Eventually, Ino was able to see the shadows under the flickering red and orange lights from the nearby fires.

Ino's eyes widened at the sight of the demons salivating at the sight of her. She continued to move back, struggling to et on her feet as hot tears fell down her face at the roars and grunts of the demons moving towards her.

"Help me!" Ino yelled out loud.

And suddenly, there was another roar from behind the demons. Ino was panting hard as she watched them stop moving before they parted. Her eyes then moved from the demons to the figured who had torn Sakura's arm off, bitten off a large piece of muscle on her forearm, before walking around the body.

At a grunt from the figure, Ino saw the demons rush towards what remained of Sakura. The blonde closed her eyes as they tore her apart, each demon vying for the best piece of the body. Her eyes shifted towards the figure who dropped the arm as he walked into the light, and Ino gasped.

She stifled her scream at the black eyes looking back at her, at the blood cover lips which grew into a grin where Ino could see the bloodstained teen. Ino shook her head, crying out in anguish at what happened to her village, to her friends, to what remained of her family, and to what happened to the figure in front of her.

"NO, NO, NO!" she yelled out before the figure in front of her roared out at her as what can be described only as long, fleshly, appendages shot out of the palms of the figure's hands. The appendages snaked through the air before rushing towards her chest.

And all Ino could do was scream the figure's name, hoping that she would get to the part of him that was human, "Naruto!

"Ino!"

Gasping as she snapped her eyes open. Ino found herself panting, her hands on her chest where the appendages, with literal mouths with razor sharp teeth at the end of the fleshy constructs, was targeting. Her eyes focused on a concerned Tsunade looking back down at her.

"Ino, what happened? You just fainted and then…"

"Tsunade-sama," Ino whispered, her mind still processing the sights, sounds, and the smells she encountered in that vision, 'or dream, or…. What the hell was that? I was nowhere near Naruto when I…' Ino shuddered at the thought of that demonic version of Naruto, 'whatever was pretending to be him.' Ino gulped as Tsunade helped her to a seated position, placing the younger blonde against the wall, "I… I don't know how or… or why but I had another vision."

"But you weren't near Naruto… I mean the last time it happened, you had your hand through that thick layer of air." Ino could see the perplexed look on Tsunade's face, and the truth was that even she was confused how she was able to have that vision without being in contact with the layer of air that Tsunade was talking about.

Ino nodded her head before saying, "it was…" Ino was still in disbelief, but the sight of the demonic Naruto, as well as the memory of the destruction and death all around her seemed too real… as if it was a vivid dream, 'no… it felt real. So very real as if it happened, or… or will happen.'

"Ino?"

"Tsunade-sama," Ino whispered looking at the former Hokage, "we… we need to talk to the Hokage. I think… I think I saw… well… I don't know how, and I may be wrong, but I think I somehow saw a vision of… well… Konoha destroyed… again.."

 **Somewhere else; another Konoha.**

Naruto was staring down at the file laying on his table in front of him. He then looked up to see Shikamaru and Yamanaka Inouchi standing across from him – the two of them had impassive expressions on their faces.

"She did it again, Inoichi-san," Naruto said, his voice edged with anger as he looked right at the light blonde haired man, "this has gone too far. She attacked Hinata in broad daylight. And not only that, she attacked my children!"

"I… I don't know what to say, Hokage-sama," Inouchi said with sorrow in his eyes, "I have tried to… I have tried everything as a father to stop her from stalking you, Hinata-sama, and the children but…"

"She's your daughter, Inoichi-san, you know, as well as I do, that once Ino makes a decision… no matter how stupid… she'll go through with it," Shikamaru said as Naruto looked down at the file of one Yamanaka Ino. Her smiling picture, taken when she was a genin, looked back at him. Naruto remembered the woman on the front lines during the Fourth Great Shinobi War, and then things changed after that. Ino changed after Sakura married Sasuke. He had always thought that Ino was over Sasuke, and even Sakura thought so as well.

It was during Sakura's wedding that Ino drunkenly exclaimed that Naruto should have been hers since Sakura married Sasuke. She yelled out drunkenly that Naruto should have married her instead of Hinata before going on a drink fuelled rant. And ever since then, it had been one problem after another. She calmed down somewhat after Kakashi sent her on one long term mission after another, but she acted up after Naruto became Hokage. Then she calmed down once again for three years before acting up again only last night when she viciously attacked Hinata and their children; an attack that resulted in Hinata being admitted to the hospital with critical injuries and both Boruto and Himawari in the Intensive Care Unit. It had taken Naruto everything he had not to simply kill Ino.

Naruto stared at Inouchi and then back at Ino's file, his anger still boiling just under the surface. He kept telling himself that Inoichi had nothing to do with the attack, that it was all Ino.

"Any outside interference acting on her mind?" Naruto asked Inoichi.

"None," he replied shaking his head before he slumped his shoulders forward. And now, all Naruto saw was an upset father "all I know is that she's thinking about you, Hokage-sama. There's something akin to a shrine built for you in a hidden section of her closet."

"Me?" Naruto asked confused, "Why?"

"She's enamoured with you, Hokage-sama," Inoichi said before looking away from Naruto. He had been the one to restrain Ino after she was taken in, the girl nearly killed Sakura after being brought to the hospital yelling about how Naruto was with the wrong woman. That he was hers, that it wasn't fair. He also saw the injuries to Hinata and the children – Himawari was attacked particularly viciously.

Inoichi then turned to Shikamaru who sighed before whispering, "Ino's gone too far this time. All the other times, I was able to protect her somewhat. Even Naruto was able to protect her when he didn't have to when the council pushed for harsh punishment. But this…"

"I can't ignore this, Inoichi-san," Naruto said, his hands on the table, "the elders are already demanding a heavy punishment for her. She attacked the wife and children of a Kage, they're demanding the death penalty. And…"

'I'm thinking about it too,' Naruto thought as he stared at Inoichi.

"Hokage-sama," Inoichi said in a panic as he thought about his little girl dying, "I just ask for two days. I'm sure there is an underlying issue… a mental issue, if I can find it and…" Inoichi stared at Naruto, unable to even finish what he wanted to say. Naruto closed his eyes and leaned back on his chair while Shikamaru leaned back against the wall. Inoichi didn't want to see Ino dead, and he was sure that even Shikamaru didn't want to see her executed – but even he had to admit to himself that what happened last night was unforgivable.

"If this is some kind of outside interference… an attack on the Yamanaka through Ino," Shikamaru said as he rubbed his chin hair, "then whoever is responsible could be trying to discredit her… or the clan… or both."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"It's a hypothesis, Naruto," Shikamaru said shaking his head and rubbing his forehead, "why the hell did she attack Hinata and the kids last night."

"Inoichi-san," Naruto said, in the back of his mind he wondered if Shikamaru had something to his hypothesis. While they were particularly close, Naruto considered Ino a friend. And he also knew that Ino was one of the many who fought the hardest during the war, and so.. based on that… Naruto made a decision while staring at Inoichi, "a week, you have a week. That's about how long I can delay a decision."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Inoichi bowed while breathing out a sigh of relief.

When Inoichi stood back up, Naruto said, "to placate the elders… including Kakashi-sensei and baa-chan, I need you to put a level six seal on her. Lock her away from all her chakra until we get to the bottom of this. And remember, you have a week, Inoichi-san."

"Thank you," he replied before turning around and walking out of the Hokage office.

TBC.


	4. Chapter 4

Choji was curious as to what was going on with Naruto.

Well, he was curious and a little creeped out by what Ino described having seen in her vision earlier that night. There was a very small part of the Akamichi heir that believed she was only joking around. However, a large part believed that Ino would never stood so low as to describe in detail the stuff she had seen.

'Lots of blood, demons, this Lilith person,' Choji gulped as he leapt from one roof to another, 'with fangs and…' he shuddered upon landing on a red tiled roof three buildings away from where the reception was taking place, 'it's so creepy even thinking about it.' He then had a downcast expression on his face, 'Ino was happy when she was dancing… well, for the reception she was happy but during the wedding she was a little teary eyed.' Choji then shook his head before continuing on towards his destination, 'but seeing her just now… she was upset. Really upset about what she saw in her vision.'

Landing on the roof of the building where the reception was taking place, Choji jumped down to the ground level and then walked into the building without rushing. He didn't want to tip anyone off that there was something wrong. He continued walking before turning left into a hallway until he could hear the sound of music playing from the reception room. Reaching the doors in the hallway that he and the others had earlier used to leave with Naruto and Ino, Choji found that his hands were trembling as he grabbed the handlebars.

Choji stared at his hands, and remembered what he had seen back in Naruto's room, 'the chakra tags were burnt out… they sparked because something was forcefully drawing their chakra out… something… something's drawing out Naruto's chakra…' He was suddenly hit with the fact that the boy he had known for years, a boy who was once ostracized and is now considered a hero of Konoha and the entire Shinobi world, was dying.

'No… no…' Choji shook his head silently, 'he's not dying. Tsunade-sama didn't say anything to that effect. I should just stop thinking that… should just stop thinking the worst case scenario. Neji will know what's going on… he can report to Tsunade-sama that Naruto's playing a very elaborate prank…' Choji knew deep inside that Naruto wasn't playing a prank. He knew that Naruto would never do something so crass, especially during the wedding of his two best friends.

'Please God,' Choji still wished it was a prank, 'let it be a prank.' He forced a smile on his face as he opened the door to dancing and music while thinking, 'or else it would be some thing worse. Much worse.' Choji walked calmly as he waved to Shikamaru who caught his eye, 'just hang on Naruto. We'll find out what's going on.'

Choji walked past the genjutsu Naruto and Tsunade as he scanned the dance floor for Neji who had come with his date, a Main House member of the Hyuuga Clan. After the war, Hyuuga Hiashi, Neji's uncle, had forced changes to the structure of the Hyuuga. He knew that it was what Hinata would have wanted to protect her cousin Neji. The Hyuuga Elders were not happy, but they had been overruled in the decision made by Hiashi – one wholeheartedly supported by Kakashi and the advisor. The Hyuuga Main and Branch Houses would be allowed to co-mingle, the Caged Bird Seal would be modified to remove the pain component – the entire seal would be redone so that it would be placed at the base of the neck of all Hyuuga who wish to remain as Konoha Shinobi.

The decision was controversial then and it still was controversial now. However, the relationship between Neji, the Hyuuga prodigy, and the girl from the Main House had been approved by Hiashi himself to improve relations between the two sides of the Hyuuga family. Choji had heard there were more changes to come, but those would take time.

Nearing the bar, Choji found the person he was looking for; however Neji was dancing with the girl, Hyuuga Akane, close to Sakura and Sasuke. It was going to be difficult walking up to the Hyuuga and telling him to head to the hospital in secret. Standing next to the bar counter, Choji looked around while putting his hand on the hard surface just as he found his second target. Kakashi was dancing with Shizune – the latter turning Kakashi around while laughing. It was then, when Kakashi was facing Choji, that the latter discretely waved his hands once his and Kakashi's eyes met. Choji then saw the discrete nod from Kakashi before the latter walked off the floor with Shizune, her arm in the crook of his elbow.

"Choji," Kakashi said as Shizune smiled and nodded at the boy before saying that her feet were killing her.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head as Shizune continued, "thank you for the dance, hokage-sama."

"Please stop with the 'sama'," Kakashi whined waved his hand as Shizune chuckled. The dark haired girl turned to look over at Tsunade, whose genjutsu form was sleeping silently, and then back to Kakashi and Choji, "I should wake up Tsunade-sama. She needs to eat something since… wait a minute…"

"Shizune," Kakashi wanted to kick himself as he thought, 'of course Shizune knows when a genjutsu is applied. So far she's been kept busy and…' Kakashi glanced at the other guests, many of whom were supposed to be able to detect active genjutsus, and then sighed, 'it's probably the occasion, and the drink, that have dulled their senses. So far it's a good thing, I guess…'

"Why is Tsunade-sama…" Shizune squinted her eyes before shifting her focus towards Naruto, "and… wait… why is Naruto-kun a genjutsu?" Shizune asked as she turned and locked eyes with Kakashi, and then she turned to Choji who gulped… an action that confirmed her thoughts that there was something being hidden from her. "Are they sick? Is…"

"Go to Tsunade-sama," Kakashi whispered as he gently placed a hand on Shizune's shoulder. He then turned to Choji, "which room, Choji?"

After Choji gave Shizune the room number, Shizune was asked not to leave in a hurry. Instead, she was told to just chuckle, nod her head, and then turn around before making her way calmly towards the exit. And before Shizune could ask what was going on, Kakashi himself said he wasn't sure since his shadow clone hadn't dispelled yet.

"All I know is that something happened to Naruto."

"Shizune-san," Choji whispered, his eyes shifting between her and Kakashi, "Hokage-sama, Tsunade-sama asked me to send Neji a message. That he's needed in Naruto's hospital room." Choji glanced at Kakashi who nodded his head before he turned and walked towards the dance floor. Choji returned to the worried Shizune who whispered if Naruto was okay. Choji looked away before whispering back, "I don't know. Tsunade-sama wants Neji to take a look at his chakra flow since…" Choji felt eyes staring back at him.

He looked up at Sasuke staring at him as Kakashi walked past him. Choji saw that Sakura's back was facing him, and it made him a little less nervous, 'Sakura would tear information out of me. She's not supposed to know… not until this reception is over.' Choji locked eyes with Sasuke who had a quizzical look on his face. He shifted his focus to Sasuke's left as Kakashi whispered into Neji's ear for a second before the Hyuuga bowed to his date. Choji saw the both of them saying something to each other – he couldn't read their lips, before Akane smiled at Neji and walked towards the other end of the hall.

Choji believed she was heading for the tables before his eyes shifted towards Sasuke who was suddenly separated from his wife by Haruno Mebuki. Choji wanted to chuckle at the look of surprise on Sasuke's face, and then sounds of laughter coming from Sakura as she danced with her father. However, the surprise lasted for a few seconds before Sasuke focused his eyes on Choji. As Neji neared, walking close to Kakashi, Choji discretely wiped the smile off his face and replaced it with his lips pressed together and shook his head.

He saw Sasuke's eyes widen slightly, the Uchiha getting the message that there was something very wrong with Naruto.

"Hokage-sama, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" Neji asked, bringing Choji's attention back to the Hyuuga.

"Not me. Sorry for the need for secrecy, but there's no classified intel that we need to talk about," Kakashi said as he recalled whispering in Neji's ear that there was a classified mission brief that came directly from the Daimyo - the mission brief asked for Neji specifically. Neji narrowed his eyes in confusion as he looked at Kakashi, and then at Choji, and then at Shizune before looking back at Kakashi once again.

"Hokage-sama, what is going on?"

"For now, what I am about to tell you is an S-Rank secret," Kakashi said, his voice low as they began walking out towards the exit, "just keep calm."

Neji nodded his head.

"About thirty minutes ago," Kakashi said as they walked passed the genjutsu Naruto, "Naruto mysteriously collapsed." Neji widened his eyes before turning his head towards Kakashi who was looking forward, "keep your emotions hidden, Neji. The peace we've built is still fragile, and we have a few foreign Shinobi at this reception. I don't know what happened to Naruto, but if any of them think that he was part of an assassination attempt, then the peace could very well start to shatter. We can't let anyone know…"

"But… the Uchiha and Sakura?"

"Sasuke knows," Kakashi said, "he's being discrete about it, and he doesn't like keeping it away from Sakura. But he knows what's at stake." Kakashi then turned his head towards the laughing Sakura as her father spun her on the dance floor, "and I know Naruto would never want to compromise her happiness…" he then looked back at Neji, "she'll be told about it once the reception is over. In the meantime, head out to the hospital with Shizune. Meet up with Tsunade-sama, and see if there's anything that can be done for Naruto."

Neji nodded his head before and Shizune walked towards the door, and then out into the hallway on the other side. As the door closed, Kakashi slightly stiffened as he stood next to Choji before he sighed and said, "my clone dispelled." Kakashi then turned around to stare at the crowd of people dancing and enjoying themselves, "a demonic war, huh?"

"And Ino was really frightened about this Lilith person," Choji whispered as he and Kakashi pulled back a chair. It was then, just before sitting down, that Choji recalled Tsunade's other order, "Hokage-sama, Tsunade-sama asked that you have the genjutsu for Naruto and herself dispelled. She asked that you then have Konohamaru henge into Naruto so that he could mingle."

Kakashi nodded his head, "ummm ummm" and then walked towards the bar before making a turn to the left on the other side of the crowded dance floor, and disappeared behind the crowd of people. Choji simply waited alongside Shizune, his mind now going back to Naruto while trying to keep a mask of joviality and hiding the fact that he was very worried.

'It's Naruto, he always comes through,' Choji thought as his eyes settled on Sasuke, and then to Sakura, and then to Shikamaru and Temari, before he looked back down at the table, 'he has to come through from whatever this is… he has to come out of it.'

Choji was scanning the area with his eyes, a smile on his face, while Kakashi was whispering in the ear of Konohamaru… asking the grandson of the Sandaime to follow him. In the meantime, Sakura was having the time of her life without any idea of what was going on.

"Are you really happy, Sakura?" her father asked, his pink three-pointed hair standing out among all the other guests in the reception hall. Sakura was just happy her father listened to her one very important request for her wedding and reception; that he doesn't make any puns the whole day and night. To the amazement of Sakura, Mebuki, and even Sasuke who he would frequently 'torture' with bad puns, the man hadn't said one single pun the whole day.

However, the three of them guessed he was simply waiting for the day to be over due the one word he said after agreeing to Sakura's demand.

"Tomorrow." And then he laughed.

But now, all Sakura could do was smile as she answered, "I'm happy, dad." Sakura thought back to the first day she introduced Sasuke to the two of them. Now that was a sight, to see both of her parents fearful of the last Uchiha – after all, everyone had known he defected and then had nearly killed Naruto and Sakura. And here he was, in front of them, by their daughter's side giving the two of them a bow while apologizing for his past actions and assuring them he was working towards the protection of Konoha.

And the rest was history.

Kizashi Haruno held his daughter close while she rested the side of her head against his shoulder. She had her eyes closed for a few seconds before opening them once again, only to see Konohamaru talking to Choji and Kakashi – she closed her eyes once again when Kakashi looked her way; yet she continued dancing with the slow music playing in the background.

'Why was Konohamaru so animated?' Sakura wondered to herself, opening her eyes again to see Kakashi walking away with Choji while Konohamaru walked the other way. Sakura moved her feet in such a way that she and Kizashi were following the direction Konohamaru was moving… she saw him whisper something into Moegi's ear. Sakura eyed Moegi smile at Konohamaru before nodding her head. Sakura didn't know what was said between them, all she could make out was that there were a few words shared between them before Konohamaru walked through a door.

'Maybe he's going to the wash… what the..?' Sakura looked on as Naruto walked through the door and back into the reception hall. Sakura looked back over her shoulder towards the tables where she had last seen Naruto, and now there was no one there.

She then turned back towards Naruto waving at a few people. He then met Sakura's eyes and waved back at her before giving a thumbs-up sign.

'Okay, the washrooms are that way so…' Sakura thought as she waved at Naruto, who was really Konohamaru in a henge, 'maybe Naruto went in when I wasn't looking. Yeah, that's it.' Sakura then looked around, 'where's Tsunade-shishou though. It's not like her to leave without saying goodbye.' Sakura looked around and then noticed that Shizune was absent as well, 'maybe she took Tsunade-sama home?'

Sakura sighed mentally telling herself that Tsunade and Shizune were going to have a long week, so they probably wanted to head back home and go to sleep early. Sakura then looked back at into her fathers' eyes, smiled, and then kissed his cheek. She lay her head on her father's shoulder once again while mentally making a note to dance with Naruto. He was her closest friend and teammate after all. Taking a deep breath, Sakura sighed and closed her eyes.

 **Konoha Hospital.**

Neji and Shizune landed at the rear entrance of the hospital, away from the main lobby. She used her key to open the door before the two of them slipped inside. They then rushed up the stairs to their left and made their way to the floor where Naruto was being kept. All the while, the both of them didn't speak.

Reaching their destination floor, Neji and Shizune rushed down the hallway, their shoes thudding against the floor, the bright overhead lights illuminating their way.

"This is it," Shizune said as she stood at the door with Neji next to her. She reached for the door handle and pushed it down. The door was then pushed open and both Neji and Shizune walked into a brightly lit room, the two of them aware of the 'beep beep' coming from a corner of the room. They continued on past the privacy curtain, and immediately stopped at the sight of Naruto lying unconscious on the hospital bed. Shizune's throat was dry at seeing someone who was like a younger brother to her lying so still on the bed. He had wires connecting to leads attached from his chest to the machine reading his heart beat.

Neji was stunned as he slowly walked towards Naruto, wondering how it was that no one even missed the fact that he wasn't even in the reception hall, 'it was the occasion.' He reminded himself that everyone was focused on Sakura, 'so what happened?'

"Choji-kun said something about his chakra being drained," Shizune said before reminding him that Tsunade wanted Neji to use his Byakugan to check on Naruto's chakra flow. Neji nodded his head as Shizune stepped back, her eyes on Naruto, as the Hyuuga concentrated his chakra to his eyes.

"Byakugan."

The veins around Neji's eyes became more prominent, a clear indication that the young man had activated the Hyuuga doujutsu. And what he saw made him gasp.

"Neji-kun, what do you see?" Shizune asked as the door to Naruto's room opened. Shizune watched the privacy curtain be pulled aside. Tsunade and Ino, both surprised to see Shizune, stepped into the room before turning their attention to Neji, and then back to Shizune.

"Shizune?" Tsunade asked with her eye-brows arched, "what are…"

"I was with the Hokage, Tsunade-sama," Shizune said shaking her head, "it's not Choji-kun's fault and… well, I noticed the Genjutsu of you and Naruto-kun so…" Shizune then turned her head towards Naruto with a saddened expression on her face, "and now we find out that something is wrong with…"

"Not just wrong," Neji said as he walked around the bed, his eyes narrowing at the sight of various colours of chakra flowing through Naruto's Chakra pathways, and out through the chest and the side of his neck, "I'm seeing blue, red chakra… I'm guessing its Naruto's own and the Kyuubi's respective chakras… but… but also eight other different colours…"

"Naruto was given chakra from the other eight tailed beasts for the battle against Madara and Kaguya," Tsunade reminded Neji. The latter nodded his head.

"Well, the chakra of the other eight tailed beasts and a gold coloured chakra…" Neji focused more closely. He saw that the gold was intertwined with the blue coloured chakra, and he immediately paled, "it's Naruto's life force… it… it's being drawn away. All of it…"

"What do you mean it's…"

"Wait," Neji said as he stopped and stood still next to Naruto's head. He started to pant as he stepped back, his mouth hung open as he bumped into Shizune, "I… what is this?" Neij's body was trembling as he saw Naruto's chakra flowing into what could be described as a shapeless mass floating just over Naruto's body. The form had nothing… no life force, no chakra pathways; but Neji could still make out the rippling edges of the shapeless form. Suddenly, the ripples on the surface of the shapeless form stopped, and it began to form into the outline of a body.

Neji was panting hard as he made out the edges of the back of a head, and then a hand pressed down onto Naruto's chest. He could only just make out the beginnings of a back just as the beginning's of nerves started to form.

"Are you all seeing this?"

"Seeing what?" Ino asked as she glanced at Naruto, however she did feel a terrible chill going up and down her spine, "there's nothing there."

"What do you see, Neji?"

"I…" Neji stopped talking when the beginnings of a head was lifted up, and then it made a turn that no ordinary human would be able to do without breaking its neck… the head made a hundred and eighty degree turn to stare back towards Neji. "What… what are you?" Neji stepped back, fear on his face and in his voice as the chakra sucked out by whatever it was on Naruto were focused on its eyes… turning them bright yellow. It opened its lips and Neji could made out the fangs as it silently screamed at him before the head spun back around and leaned back down towards Naruto's neck.

Neji gulped, a sense of fear weighing him down as he stared at the formerly formless shape taking the first few steps towards an unseen humanoid form. He felt a chill… a sense of terror as he tore his eyes away from Naruto and towards Tsunade while deactivating his Byakugan. The latter rushed towards him just as he felt himself listing to the left, but was caught before he fell to the floor.

"Neji!" Tsunade said as she and Shizune helped the Hyuuga to the couch in the corner of the room, "what did you see?"

"AAAAAAAAAA…" a chill went up the spines of everyone in the room before Neji could answer. They turned around upon hearing the groan coming out of Naruto's lips. Tsunade held her breath as the temperature in the room drastically dropped while thinking that tone wasn't from the Naruto she knew. And then his lips moved, and Tsunade felt her heart racing when they heard, "what did you see?"

It wasn't Naruto's voice.

It was deeper. It had a resonance of evil so profound that the small group in the room couldn't help but shiver.

Tsunade shook her head, rolled her hands into fists, and walked towards the bed. She was putting on a façade of bravado to hide the fact that she was getting a feeling of absolute terror. She couldn't explain why; maybe it was because she could se the condensation in the air as she exhaled. Maybe it was because the temperature in the room suddenly dropped even more. No matter what, Tsunade ordered herself not to fear, "I am the Godaime Hokage of Konoha, I demand to know who you are and what you have done with Naruto."

"I am Lilith, Queen of Death and Darkness…" Naruto then groaned in that terrifying voice that sent chill down the spines of the people in the room before speaking again in a crackling voice, "Hokage has no meaning to me… I will have my body once again, and I already have my prince… and then I take back everything that is mine," the deep voice, Lilith's voice, then laughed an evil laugh before it said, "Hokage, Madara, Hashirama, Kaguya," the voice then laughed as Tsunade and the others stared at Naruto in surprise that this Lilith knew those particular names, "you are all children playing at the feet of a god. My children will rise, and we will feed once more on this world."

The feeling of oppression and evil suddenly faded away. The temperature in the room seemed to go back up. But Naruto continued sleeping, this time he breathed normally.

"Naruto?" Tsunade said as she rushed to his bedside and placed a hand on the young man's cheek.

"Naruto," the Godaime repeated as Ino sat on the couch shaking like a leaf, "wake up.. please."

Neji had his eyes closed while he sat back on the couch and tried to push back the fear he had felt.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune said in a quivering voice as the evil resonating from the voice that came out of Naruto reverberated throughout the walls, "what… what is happening?"

"I don't know…. I really don't know," Tsunade whispered in disbelief as she stared at the unconscious Naruto.

"He is dying," Neji whispered opening his eyes again. He looked up at Tsunade and whispered, "I doubt this was an attack by a nation that is unhappy in not being included in the United Shinobi Union. I doubt this was done by any terrorist group. I doubt… I doubt…" Neji stopped talking as he recalled the face that seemed to be sucking away Naruto's chakra and life-force.

"Neji?" Ino said her hands on her knees as she watched Naruto asleep, "what is it?"

"Tsunade-sama, I believe the others must know. I am certain this was not act of war, thus the prudent thing to do would be for all nations to come together and find a way to figure out what has happened to Naruto."

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," Tsunade whispered before a shadow clone appeared next to her, the clone also looking down towards Naruto with a sad look on her face. The real Tsunade turned towards the clone and said, "go back to the reception. Quietly get to Kakashi. Tell him that things have changed, that this may not be an attack on Naruto. Well, not a traditional attack. Tell him we encountered something that seems to have taken some form of possession over him. We may need the help of the other nations to help him."

"I will accompany your clone back to the reception, Tsunade-sama," Neji said standing up, "and.. and I really need so fresh air. Seeing what I just saw…"

"Go," Tsunade nodded her head towards Neji and then to her Clone. Once the two of them were gone, Tsunade stood over Naruto, with Shizune standing next to her with a worried expression on her face. Tsunade glanced at Shizune before saying, "we need to know the rate at which his chakra is being drained, you know what we need."

"Hai," Shizune bowed before rushing out of the room while Ino, who had – she would later claim – an insane idea enter her mind, stood up from the couch before taking tentative steps forward.

The blonde Yamanaka clan head walked towards the left of Naruto's bed and placed her hand on the railings. She gripped the metal railing tight until her knuckles turned white as she stared at Naruto's face for a second before she looked up at Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama, why isn't the Kyuubi fighting back?"

"I don't know," replied Tsunade as she shook her head.

"Well, Naruto isn't one to just step back and… well… let something else take over his body," Ino said while feeling a chill going up and down her spine as she thought of the look on Naruto's face from earlier. She glanced at the peaceful expression on his face before looking back towards Tsunade, "what if I sent my mind into his? What if I could somehow find what's going on with the Kyuubi? Maybe I could push the fuzzy-one to help Naruto beat this thing?"

"It's dangerous," Tsunade said as Ino frowned, "we have no idea what's going on in his mind, Ino."

"We wont know unless I get in there," Ino countered, "and if I can't reach the Kyuubi, then I can find Naruto's mental-self and give him a little push. If this really is some sort of weird possession, or… well… whatever this is, then reaching Naruto is the second best way to wake him up. That idiot never gives up, Tsunade-sama. You know it, I know it. Hell, even Sasuke-kun knows it."

Tsunade was looking at the man she considered a son, before she looked at Ino.

"We'll bring it up when Kakashi comes here," Tsunade said, "until then, we need to find out how long it would be before… before whatever this Lilith is, kills Naruto."

TBC.


	5. Chapter 5

**Millenia ago, the southernmost coast of the modern day Land of Fire.**

"General!" Lilith bellowed in rage while glaring at the blonde-haired woman cradling a blood covered body in the distance. She could feel her lips still slick with blood, blood that she licked off with her purple tongue before bellowing out towards the blonde-haired General once again.

The demon queen's body was wrapped tight by glowing chains that ripped out of the chests and backs of the men and women surrounding her. Not only did the chains wrap around her, holding her down on her knees on the softened blood soaked ground, they also penetrated her normally impervious skin and armour. From the corner of her eyes, she could see a robed figure chanting away while holding a thick leather-bound book. She turned her head towards the figure whose hood covered his face in shadow, and raged, "you think this will seal me and my children away!?"

Lilith growled as she bared her fangs at the robed figure before turning her head towards the other men and women standing in a circle around her. With her enhanced hearing, she then heard a quiet sob in the distance before she stared at the General who laid down the body of her dead daughter and wiped her own eyes. A smile formed on the blood-stained lips of the demon as her blood red eyes focused onto the anguish on the General's face.

And Lilith yelled out once again, "she lies within me, General! Her soul is within me! And I will enjoy the souls of her, her lover, and all these people you hold dear! They will nourish me for years upon years!"

"Silence, creature!" the robed figure commanded.

Lilith snapped her head towards the robed figure and snarled. However, the robed figure stood his ground as he raised his head. Lilith could see his eyes, a deep blue with parts of his red hair peeking out from under the hood. The man spoke with authority, "you will speak no more. You will walk on this world no more after this day. And you will no longer be able to…"

"You stole this way of sealing me away by using the blood of my own children to enhance your puny bodies," Lilith growled at the robed figure before she turned her head towards the blonde-haired General making her way towards her. The General was holding a blood-stained sword made from the same steel as the ones jutting out from the men and women who held Lilith down.

And make no mistake, the demon queen was trapped. She had no access to any of her more 'savage' abilities and she couldn't even feel her body. Her arms were held tight against her body by the links of the glowing chains that wrapped around her while she was continuing to lose blood from the wounds caused by the various razor-sharp ends of the chains that went through her body and dug into the earth.

"You killed so many, monster," the General whispered after stopping a few steps away from Lilith before motioning her arms towards the people around them. She then pointed at the chains as she continued, "but it is the blood of your demons that formed the basis of these new gifts."

"I am very aware," Lilith snarled.

The General's eyes went back to staring at the creature wrapped tightly in the glowing chains, "it was a stroke of luck that the blood transfusions from your dead demonic children into these volunteers succeeded."

The General then looked down at her sword before enraged eyes looked up into the pit of nothingness and despair that were Lilith's reddish orbs, "and the metallic chains that formed from some of your despicable children were melted down and used to create this sword and several more bladed weapons."

Lilith looked away from the General and watched in the distance, all around her, as more and more of her children were cut down screaming in pain and rage by warriors wielding weapons forged from the same metal. She then turned her head towards the General who growled, "you will be trapped here for all time. We will watch over you, we will guard the world against you, we will ensure you are never brought back to this world."

At this, Lilith sneered before closing her eyes and opening them after a few moments while the robed figure continued to whisper. This time he put the book away and then reached inside his robe before taking out a bottle of pale blue liquid.

While he unscrewed the bottle, Lilith growled at the General, "You may have won this time, General." Lilith snarled, causing a chill to go up and down the spines of everyone while a corner of her lips raised upwards, "but I am a god. I have seen alternative fates… alternative futures, and I can say that in every one of them I will return."

The General glared at the monster in front of her before saying, "you never saw your defeat, did you?" A smile then formed on the General's face, "you never saw your own defeat. Which means you can be wrong, that you are not infallible. Why would any of your so called alternative futures occur now that you are to be sealed away?"

Lilith chuckled at the blonde-haired woman who continued speaking as she put her sword into the scabbard on her left hip.

"We of the Uzu are masters of sealing, capable of feats that have trapped lower demons and creatures of darkness for centuries. You are not the first to have come here, demon. And you are not the first so-called god we have trapped." The General crossed her arms over her ample chest, her lips pressed together in restrained anger before she continued with a growl, "although you are the one who caused the most pain and destruction."

Lilith smirked before she chuckled. Stopping a few seconds later, Lilith then continued speaking while glaring at the General.

"After we help any survivors on the mainland, we will return home and rebuild our own home," the General finished.

Lilith twisted her face in rage at the smug look on the General's face before barking out, "in six months, we have enslaved, eaten, and simply killed millions upon millions of humans across the mainland and on your island before you pushed us back."

Lilith stopped herself, took in a breath, and then said, "I will return. My children will return, and we will feed." She then laughed for a few moments before continuing, "My children and I will return, and when we do… I will have a prince by my side. I have seen it… we will eat and destroy everything living before moving on to the next world."

The General then glanced at the people surrounding them before her eyes shifted back towards Lilith once again, "even if you happen to return; whether it be tomorrow, hundreds of years from now, or millennia in the future, my people will be there to defeat you once again." She then glanced at one of the chains before reaching out for one of the links. The General brushed her fingers along the smooth metal making up one of the links and then turned her head towards Lilith once again.

"For centuries, my people had this power within them… a power we were simply born with thanks to the ancient purpose of the island… to entrap demons through our gifts," she spoke, her arms still folded across her chest while her heart continued to race at the thought that this monster murdered so many people. She took another step towards Lilith while saying, "we discovered it was only us, we searched the mainland for others with similar abilities and skills as ours, but there were none. We often wondered why we had this skill," the General stopped talking and remembered the first time she was able to use an inner force, along with her martial skills, to even shatter rocks with a punch. And now, the transfused blood from demons had given many of her people more unique abilities that aided in the final push against the demonic horde that simply appeared one day in a brilliant flash of light on the far side of the mainland.

Lilith scoffed before spitting blood at the General's feet.

"That boost in our natural skills helped defeat you and your children," the General said, "we won."

"I have seen your fall, General," Lilith growled as she glared at the General, "I have seen your people forget what transpired here, I have seen the coming of a being that calls itself a goddess, I have seen a tree bearing a fruit bestowing powers to her, I have seen the coming wars." She smiled darkly at the General, "it is a power that will be freely given to the human race, similar to power in the blood of my children. The same blood that you ingrates have put into your own bodies to heighten your abilities and create new ones."

"We will be ready," the General said as she took several steps back while the robed figure spilled the pale blue liquid onto the ground, "and you? Well, your body and very soul will be trapped for all time." The General heard Lilith chuckle while she continued, "there will be someone who will always watch this seal in both peace and war."

'Where will they be when this place is destroyed by your enemies?' Lilith thought to herself as the General drew her sword once again. She sneered at the General before the blonde-haired women swung her sword. The last thing that Lilith saw before her head was cut off her shoulders was the robed figure slamming his hand onto the ground. Lilith's head fell on the ground in front of the now headless body with a 'thump', the eyes staring at the General.

"Seal!" the robed figure exclaimed after slamming his hands on the ground. The General and the others watched as the liquid moved on its own along the bloodied ground creating a thick circular border. It encircled the trapped Lilith before the liquid began crating symbols all on its own within the thick border. A few seconds later, a circular wall of blue light surrounded the body of the dead Lilith as the chains that held her trapped retracted back into the bodies of their users. The circular symbol glowed bright blue before the body itself vanished in crackles of lighting and smoke.

All that remained was the symbol on the ground and the dead bodies of humans and demons piled all around them. The war was over, and it was time to rebuild.

"General Azumi."

The General turned towards the robed figure who continued, "this site must be protected at all cost. Lilith was powerful, much more powerful than the monsters our people have sealed away." The General nodded her head at the figure, signalling at him to continue, "after her death, I felt her spiritual energy trapped within the seal as well."

"Something as powerful as her would continue to live on, even in death," the General whispered as she glanced at the other warriors around them. Their clothes were torn in places thanks to the chains that protruded from their bodies earlier, but they still went back onto the field of battle to kill any remaining demons that were present. The General then turned back towards the robed figure, one of the High Priests of the island, and continued, "and if the seal is ever broken, then her spiritual energy will escape."

"And the world will pay for it."

"Find people you trust who are still alive, Ashiki," the General told the robed priest, "drill into them that this seal and its protection is their singular duty… as well as the duty of their descendants… from now until the end of time."

"We must write down what has transpired here so that our people remember what is at stake if Lilith is ever released again." Turning towards the seal, the General then spoke once again, "she cannot be released into the world... never again."

The General and her people would mourn the dead before the usually isolationist islanders travelled onto the mainland to destroy any other demons that still lived. Many of the warriors discovered humans who were kept as breeding stock and as food for those very demons – demons that were then killed by these warriors and the prisoners they freed. It would be another five years before the demons that followed Lilith to Earth were purged from the mainland. Soon after, the islanders returned to their home across the whirlpool laden sea; they only returned to the mainland when called to investigate and deal with creatures of darkness, such as demons.

The survivors on the mainland thrived for generation after generation and eventually forgot about the demonic horde that nearly wiped a continent. The mainlanders lived their lives, as did the islanders who returned saw a return to prosperity and peace. There were still small scale wars between small nations on the mainland, but nothing like the war against the demons.

One night, a few millennia after the demon horde's invasion, what would eventually be known as the divine-tree crashed onto Earth. The roots of the tree dug deep into the Earth; it was attracted to the blood, both demonic and human, that seeped deep into the ground of the continent millenia ago. Even blood shed by the small scale wars of the time were being slowly consumed by the mysterious tree. The power in the blood, as well as the blood itself, would eventually cause a bud to bloom into what would be known as the Chakra Fruit.

Then came Kaguya. She would eat the fruit of the divine tree. It was Kaguya who would be known later on as the progenitor of Chakra. The power in the blood of the long dead demons were finally given a name – a power that Kaguya's clan sought to collect and consume from one world to another.

And history went on as written in legends and songs of the Rabbit Goddess and how her sons warred with her. The occupants of the island, descendants of the General's people, looked on from a distance in fear and awe as three gods fought – the islander's only hope was that the powerful beings generating those massive explosions and changing the landscape around the world would not come towards them. The Guardians of the Seal were particularly fearful; they knew what would happen if a blast hit the island - the seal would break and Lilith would be freed.

When that war was finished and Kaguya sealed away, the islanders breathed a sigh of relief. Over time, the islanders grew in power and stature. They further perfected the sealing arts and, thanks to their relatively longer lives and durability, the islanders forged numerous alliances with the mainland in the ongoing wars that had already devastated the mainland and were threatening the island. By this time the islanders – except for the priests who watched over the seal, now with a non-descript building built around it – believed the war with demons were just stories.

The Islanders would eventually become close allies with the Senju Clan from the mainlaind. The Uzu Clan would, over time, become known as the Uzumaki Clan and their symbol of a swirling whirlpool would be honoured among the Senju when Hashirama founded the village of Konoha with the Uchiha Clan. And it would be Uzumaki Mito, the daughter of the clan head, who would be known as one of the first to live on the mainland as the wife of the Shodaime Hokage, Senju Hashirama.

Over the many skirmishes and wars after the founding of Konoha, the islanders on Uzu would be more and more involved in the wars on the mainland.

Over time, other nations were jealous of the island nation. Four nations attacked it while the third Shinobi War raged on the mainland. Calls for help were sent to their greatest ally, Konoha. But all the messages were intercepted before reaching the village, so the Hokage – the Sandaime Hiruzen Sarutobi – never knew about its eventual destruction until the final missive, just before the fall of the island, was sent out.

It was too late though. The coordinated attack on the island killed hundreds and thousands of people while many others escaped into exile. The attack destroyed the main village of Uzushigakure and the smaller villages. The island would be plundered, its secrets stolen by those who attacked and, later on, by the one who betrayed the alliance; Danzo.

Sarutobi never figured out why a warning from the island was never received until the last moment. But in the end, his investigations didn't come to anything. And that didn't matter. Nothing mattered really since the seal was cracked in the war. It was the first time Lilith's spiritual energy felt the rising power of her demonic children's essences all around her. But she was still trapped.

And then came the fourth shinobi war. A blast from the Jyuubi impacted the island and shattered the seal. While the Shinobi forces celebrated their victory over Kaguya and the Akatsuki, none realized that Lilith was awakened. And that she was freed.

And so, the end had come once again. This time, no one would realize it until it was too late.

 **Konoha; now.**

Music was still playing as Sakura danced with her father. The man's strange hairstyle – as pink as a sakura flower and in the style of one as well – was humming along with the music while Sakura lay her head on his left shoulder. She could see Sasuke dancing with her mother, as well as several others dancing with their own partners. But the floor wasn't as crowded as before, with the tables and chairs that were once empty already had people seated. Many were eating, drinking, some even were rubbing their feet.

'Which reminds me,' Sakura thought to herself, 'my feet hurt.' She wanted to laugh; this was the day she wished for her entire life – or at least when she first met Sasuke – and all she could do was complain about her feet hurting.

'I can take a break later,' Sakura thought to herself as the music tapered off and people stopped dancing. She kissed her father's cheeks – with her mother kissing Sasuke's cheeks, causing the man's face to flush red slightly – before stepping back. There was a roar of applause then before the Deejay on the raised dais spoke out saying that the friends and family of the wedded couple had a few things to say. Sakura turned her head towards her mother walking towards her with an arm around Sasuke's. Sakura reached out for her husband and gently grasping his free hand while her mother let him go, and then kissed Sakura on her cheek.

With Haruno Mebuki walking towards her husband, Sakura and Sasuke turned towards the raised dais when the Deejay exclaimed, "and the first well-wisher for the handsome couple, the current Hokage, Hatake Kakashi!" Everyone clapped as Kakashi walked up the steps which were a short distance away from the bar.

'Where's Shizune-senpai?' Sakura thought to herself as she turned her head towards the tables to search for her senior. She looked around, her eyes searching for the dark haired woman, before turning towards the dais when Kakashi tapped a spoon against the glass of wine in his hand, 'that's odd, where's Ino?' She looked around once again while Kakashi talked about how Team Seven were still his 'little genin' no matter what anyone said. That brought about laughter from the crowd while Sakura, her eyes going past Shikamaru, Temari, and Hyuuga Akane, then realized that Neji was missing as well, as was Choji.

'They probably went out to get some air,' Sakura thought as she turned her head back towards Sasuke who was staring at Kakashi telling an embarrassing story of the time when Sasuke and Naruto had their hands stuck together for a few days. Sakura noticed the worried expression on his face. It lasted for a few seconds before it was replaced with a huff as he looked away from Kakashi when the latter brought up the time he and Naruto accidentally kissed in the classroom.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura yelled out, shaking her fist at the masked man while others simply laughed.

"But seriously," Kakashi said as Sakura lowered her arms, the stare she gave him sending chills up and down his spine, continued his speech, "these two have had their ups and downs…" Kakashi knew it wouldn't be right to bring about Sasuke's more 'darker' times, "… and yet, despite everything they've been through together and apart, here they are…" As he continued finishing his speech, he caught sight of the door at the other end of the reception hall opening.

He saw Tsunade walking into the hall, along with Neji; the both of them looked at him in worry when their eyes met. But Kakashi didn't stop the jovial tone of his speech before raising his glass to Sasuke and Sakura's health and happiness. Kakashi expected to hear news about Naruto, he just had hoped it wasn't going to be bad news based on the expressions on their faces.

Everyone cheered to Sasuke and Sakura's happiness before Kakashi walked back down the steps while the Deejay returned to the microphone. In an excited voice, while Kakashi was heading towards Tsunade and Neji, the Deejay called for Tsunade and her speech to the couple.

Kakashi saw Tsunade look at Neji and then mumble something before she changed direction and headed for the dias. He glanced at the worried look on her face changing to one of joy as she turned her head towards Sakura and Sasuke's direction.

"Hokage-sama," Neji said once he was close enough while Tsunade walked up the steps. Kakashi saw Tsunade whisper into the Deejay's ears for a second before the man dressed in the sparking grey suit and blue flared trousers nodded his head and then handed her the microphone. Kakashi turned back towards Neji before nodding towards the bar where Choji was standing next to Konohamaru transformed as Naruto.

As they walked, Kakashi then whispered, "what happened?"

"Naruto is dying," Neji whispered before Kakashi snapped his head towards him. The masked Hokage's eyes were wide open in surprise as Neji continued, "I used my Byakugan on him, only to see his chakra… as well as the chakra of the Kyuubi and the other eight tailed beasts… being sucked out of him."

"What?" Kakashi hissed out as he tried to keep his voice low. BY this time, they reached the bar where Choji and Konohamaru heard the surprise in Kakashi's voice. They turned towards Kakashi and Neji, the latter was nodding his head, "where?"

"Where what?" Choji asked.

"Hokage-sama," Konohamaru said just as the guests cheered once Tsunade was done with her speech, "what's going on with Naruto-nii, and…"

"Our next, and final, well wisher for the couple is the hero of Konoha, and one of the four who sealed away Kaguya and saved the entire world; UZUMAKI NARUTO!"

Konohamaru paled as he snapped his head towards the dias where Tsunade was walking down the steps.

"You do know that Naruto was supposed to give a small speech, right?" Kakashi asked as he scratched the back of his head. He saw Konohamaru look back towards him as he continued, "just say things that you know Naruto would say."

"But…"

"Just don't anything too stupid or else Sakura will be punishing you after this is all done," Kakashi chuckled before grabbing his shoulders, turned him towards the dias, and then pushing him off just as Tsunade strode past while patting Konohamaru on the shoulder.

"Good luck, kid," she said. As Konohamaru, transfromed as Naruto, walked away mumbling about being unfair and being left out of the loop, Kakashi turned towards Tsunade who grabbed the bottle of Sake on the bar next to Choji and took a sip. She then sighed and whispered while eying Kakashi, Choji, and Neji. She then asked Neji, "you told them?"

"Choji doesn't know, not yet," Neji said before he glanced at Kakashi, "Hokage-sama knows."

"What happened to Naruto?" Choji whispered with a look of worry.

"Naruto is dying," Tsunade whispered. Choji stiffened, blood draining from his face as he stared at Tsunade before looking over Kakashi who had his eyes closed. Neji then told Choji of what he saw when he used his Byakugan before going on to explain that the chakra was being sucked into some kind of formless mass floating above Naruto's body.

Neji then shuddered, something he couldn't prevent as he remembered that terrifying face staring back at him, "I saw something. A face… the more chakra it was taking it, the more features seemed to form and…"

"The boss didn't see anything, and neither did Ino and Shizune," Tsunade said, "this isn't an attack, Kakashi. This… this is some kind of a possession by an entity we haven't encountered."

"What do you mean possession?" Choji asked in surprise before Kakashi could respond.

"Naruto was non-responsive until I saw that… that face," Neji said while suppressing another shudder, "then, a few seconds later, after that face returned to seemingly sucking chakra from his neck, Naruto spoke in a voice that was not his."

Kakashi froze; as did Choji.

"He… it… whatever this thing is… called itself Lilith, the Queen of Death and Darkness," Tsunade said while the other guests cheered at Konohamaru's toast towards Sakura and Sasuke. Kakashi turned his head towards Sasuke and Sakura's direction. Sasuke was staring at Konohamaru and Sakura was laughing and clapping. Kakashi looked away from the couple's direction and back towards Tsunade who said, "the original me recommends we inform Temari and Kurotsuchi, since this is not an attack by one of the other nations, we could ask them for any expertise about this Lilith entity."

"Kurotsuchi has been dancing with Sai… both have been kind of inseparable since the wedding," Choji said leaning to the side so that he could look behind Tsunade and towards the dance floor where Sai and Kurotsuchi were standing among the other guests, "and Temari's with Shikamaru." He then turned back towards Tsunade and Kakashi before saying, "and if Naruto's dying, then I think Sakura and Sasuke would understand the need to finish this reception early."

"The others should be notified too," Neji said, referring to what remained of the Konoha Eleven, "working together, we should be able to discover what this Lilith really is, and then eliminate her and cure Naruto."

"How long does he have?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm sure the original me has already begun measuring the rate of chakra loss," the clone Tsunade said, "until then, we can't be sure."

"Could this Lilith be what Ino saw in her vision?" Kakashi asked, referring to the information returning to his mind after his clone dispersed earlier.

"Probably," Tsunade replied as she looked over at the Deejay asking everyone to continue dancing. She then turned back towards Kakashi and continued, "and now?"

"Now we contact the other Hokage's and help Naruto," Kakashi said before turning towards Sasuke and Sakura who were walking up the steps to the raised dais, the pink haired girl holding onto Sasuke's hand, "and I think, given the situation, we need to tell Sasuke and Sakura now."

As Sakura was handed the microphone from the Deejay, Tsunade agreed with Kakashi.

'Don't give up, Naruto,' the clone Tsunade thought, 'do not give up.'

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**The Reception Hall, Konoha.**

"Can… can you repeat that, Kakashi Sensei?" Sakura's voice was quaking while her trembling hand was holding onto Sasuke's trembling hand. She couldn't have heard what she just heard… she couldn't have heard that Naruto, her closest friend, was dying. She couldn't have heard it correctly… there was no way. Because if she did hear correctly, then that would mean that she was enjoying herself - she was pouring her heart and soul into enjoying herself - while Naruto lay dying. She looked up towards Sasuke whose single visible Sharingan eye was widened in shock while the other one with the Rinnegan was covered by hair falling down the left half of his face.

Sakura could feel his hand continuing to tremble before she turned towards Kakashi, Choji, Tsunade, and Neji standing across from them. Sakura continued thinking that she heard it wrong, And so, with a quivering voice, she asked, "just repeat it again." No, she must have heard wrong. She and the others just listened to Naruto's toast. So how could he be in the hospital dying, 'and why aren't you giving out any details, Kakashi-sensei!'

The couple were standing on the roof of the building housing the reception hall with a stunned Temari and Shikamaru standing to their left and an equally stunned Kurotsuchi and Sai to their right side. It was only after Naruto – or who Sakura thought was Naruto - finished his speech that they were brought to the roof by Kakashi who earlier whispered he need to talk to the both of them. It would be a moment later that Tsunade's shadow clone, Neji, and Choji made their way to the roof as well.

Sakura, her lips parted into an 'O' shape, turned her head towards her Master before looking over at the regret on Neji's face, and then to the expression on Choji. She then turned to her husband who had his eyes closed and his face twisted in a mixture of anger and sorrow. As if sensing she was looking at him, Sasuke opened in eye with a downcast expression in his face before turning his head towards her. It was then that Sakura realized that Sasuke was in on it too – that he knew what happened to Naruto. And he hadn't told her.

"You knew," Sakura whispered at Sasuke. He closed his eyes once again before nodding his head and then looking away. In disbelief, Sakura then turned towards the surprise on Shikamaru's face.

"I didn't know," he whispered shaking his head at Sakura before she could ask. He then looked over at Choji, "when did you know? When did you…?"

"Before all of you get antsy," Tsunade said as she lifted her hand to stop any questions, "there were good reasons not to inform anyone of what happened to Naruto." Tsunade then glanced at Temari looking back at her.

"You thought it was an attack," Temari said after a second before she stared at Tsunade and then at Kakashi before she sighed and shook her head, "I guess that's what I'd have thought too I guess."

"There wasn't an attack? Nothing that could be traced to a culprit or…"

"That's just it," Tsunade said shaking her head as she recalled what happened back in Naruto's room at the hospital. She glanced at Neji who stifled a shudder as he crossed his arms over his chest. Sakura noticed the shudder from Neji, and she sensed fear.

'What could make him scared?' Sakura thought before she looked towards Tsunade. It was then she wondered about the other person who was missing, "Shishou, where's Ino?" Sakura then listened in stunned silence a she recounted what Ino had seen in her vision, followed by what happened in the hospital room. She asked if anyone had heard about something or someone called Lilith, but there was no answer. For now though, who this Lilith was didn't matter to Sakura… she just wanted to punch her. She wanted to pull away whatever it was that was draining Naruto's chakra and lifeforce; she wanted to destroy it… she wanted to tear it apart one piece at a time. Sakura was pulled out of her thoughts when Kakashi spoke.

"Kurotsuchi-san, Temari-san," the Hokage said as he placed his hands on his hips, "please contact your respective villages in regards to any information about Lilith."

"That's the only information we have? Just a name?" Kurotsuchi asked as she placed her left hand on her hip, "is there any other information the Yamanaka girl gleaned?"

"Something about a war," Choji said, "Ino said that there were these strange creatures looked like… well… demons that were lying dead. Demons and humans."

"Okay," Temari narrowed her eyes in confusion, "never heard of Lilith in any textbooks or about any war that involved demons and humans."

Sakura tried to remember her Academy days for any information on a war against demons, 'well, we used to think that the Kyuubi was a demon.' However, other than their respective tailed beasts, Temari and Kurotsuchi confirmed that they hadn't learned about demons other than the Bijuu.

"However, I'll ask Gaara about it… and he'll get the research division to search for any clues on this Lilith character."

Kurotsuchi then agreed with Temari, "I'll have grandfather search for any information on Lilith and for information on any war with demons."

"I'll return to Kaguya's palace," Sasuke said as Sakura looked up at him, "maybe there's something there about this Lilith person." Kakashi nodded his head before telling both Sakura and Sasuke to tell their guests that they were leaving.

"Kinda rude if you don't," Kakashi said sagely before he continued, "and then we try doing everything we can to identify Lilith and get her away from Naruto." All of them then nodded their heads before Kakashi said, "dismissed."

 **Naruto's Room, Konoha Hospital, at that same time.**

Ino still felt a cold chill running up and down her spine as she leaned forward while seated on the couch in Naruto's room. Her chills were not from the air-conditioning, instead she was thinking back several minutes to when Naruto spoke in a voice that wasn't his own. That otherworldly voice and the chakra outline that Neji described seeing still creeped her out. It almost sounded as if there was some kind of an invisible vampire that was trying to suck out Naruto's chakra instead of his blood.

'And it does sound like a vampire… a chakra vampire,' Ino thought to herself as she stood up off the couch and brought her arms over her head and stretched. She yawned while twisting her body from side to side before putting her arms back down by her side. Still dressed to the nines, Ino slowly glided… she had already taken off her slippers at the entrance to the room… over to Naruto's bedside and grasped the railing.

"Naruto?" Ino whispered as the machines around him silently beeped and hummed. She looked up to one of the machines that was hooked to his chest; one part of the machine measured his heart rate, the cuff attached to the machine and to his upper arm measured his blood pressure, and another device was hooked up to his forefinger to measure his blood oxygen.

Her eyes then shifted to the other machine that was measuring his chakra and how much was being drained and how fast. Her eyes focused on the number indicated on the screen, it was surrounded by other numbers that didn't make much sense to her; but all she was told by Tsunade and Shizune before they went home to change was that Naruto should be stable for the foreseeable future. The plan was that Ino would be relieved when Tsunade and Shizune returned. And then Ino could either return home and change before coming back to the hospital or she could return to the party and then come back at another time. Ino chose to go home immediately and change before returning to the hospital.

"It doesn't feel right, you know," Ino had said back then when Tsunade, the original one, returned home to change. As did the original Shizune.

As Ino stood over Naruto, she had her lips pressed together before looking away from the number on the screen which stated that Naruto was losing a small percentage of his chakra every hour.

'I really don't get it,' Ino thought to herself as she rested her arms on the bed railing and leaned forward. She turned her head towards Naruto and thought to herself, 'Sakura would know stuff about this far better than me.' She shifted her eyes off the peaceful expression on Naruto's face before looking at the tube going into his arm, 'Tsunade-sama ordered intravenous feeding for him. There's been no response so far… at least not after that whole possessed Naruto phase.' Ino still shuddered at recalling the tone of the voice that spoke through Naruto's lips before looking away from the machine and back to Naruto's face, "I don't know if you can hear me, Naruto. Fight. Whatever this is, you need to fight."

Ino was still uneasy about being this close to Naruto, and it wasn't because she was afraid of him. In fact, Ino could only mentally chuckle now as she remembered saying, "I think I could fall for him" after Naruto returned to the village after having defeated Pein. It was after he had convinced the latter to return everyone to life. She did not know herself if she was being serious, or if it was just an admission of the moment – she'd like to think that it was just an admission of the moment – but all she knew what that Naruto was a good person who saved them all.

'You're still annoying as hell,' Ino thought to herself as her eyes settled on his whiskers before looking back up towards his closed eyes, 'but you're a good person.' Ino straightened out before stepping back and then turned back to walk towards the couch. She put her hands behind her back as she neared the couch when she suddenly stopped upon feeling a chill running up and down her spine. She felt her skin crawl before she brought her arms up to her chest and stared at the hair standing up straight while bumps formed down the length of her arms.

And then Ino felt a presence behind her. Her breath hitched at the feeling of cold that suddenly surrounded her. The temperature in the room started to fall quickly, she could even feel herself shivering while her breath condensed in the air. She felt compelled to turn around… there was something in her mind compelling her to turn. But she didn't want to turn… she felt if she did, then she would see something horrific. Ino was fighting her body as sweat formed on her forehead. She was rolling her hands into fists as she forced her body to remain facing the wall.

Ino felt a weight slowly coming down her shoulders as her breathing quickened and her heart started to race. Sweat beaded down her bare neck and down to her shoulders… a cool breeze suddenly brushing her skin. Ino shivered at the sudden cool before she stiffened at the feeling of having eyes on her… eyes that were drilling through the back of her skull.

"Who…. Who's there?" Ino stuttered while her body trembled; her eyes were looking straight ahead while her heart thundered in her chest. Her bottom lip was quivering as another chill ran up and down her spine. She breathed out, "Naruto… if… if you're in there… you… you have to fight…"

Ino had never felt as terrified as she did now… not even during the war when facing the Jyuubi… no, this feeling was something else. And the visions she had didn't help matters at all. The demons and the sight of Lilith was just terrifying.

"Answer me," Ino said. She was doing her best to keep her voice steady; she was trying to not show how terrified she was at that very moment. But in the forefront of her mind, she knew that her fear was showing. She gulped as the sensation of the air getting heavier around her started to become stifling. Ino needed to get out… the door was to her left, and she walked sideways as quickly and calmly as she could. She kept her back to Naruto the entire time, she did not want to turned to see his unconscious form nor did she want to see what it was that was staring at her. At least she did not want to see it while she was alone.

'I should have insisted Shizune-san stayed with me….' Ino thought as she nearly reached the door, 'she wanted to stay and keep me company, but nooooooo, I had to insist she go. I had to insist that I could handle it. After all Naruto's unconscious, and that thing spoke only when prodded.' Ino was closer to the door now, so she reached out and glanced at the door lever. She grabbed it, and then hurriedly pulled it down.

Without a word, she then turned and rushed out the door and into the hallway. Once she was out, Ino turned and shut the door behind her. Her hands were pressed against the door… the surface was cold… freezing cold… as she closed her eyes and recalled a glance from the corner of her eyes in the direction of the bed. She swore that Naruto was sitting up, a sickening smile on his face while his eyes were black in colour.

Ino turned and leaned back against the door and hung her arms by the side of her body. The weight around her body was gone once she stepped outside into the brightly lit hallway. She could breathe once again and a sense of peace overtook her. She felt relieved… so relieved that she slipped down the door as tears streamed down her face. Ino felt lucky… she felt so lucky to be out of that room.

Once she was on the cool floor of the hospital hallway, Ino pulled her bent legs to her chest and hugged them tight. Naruto was her friend, and now he terrified her.

'That's not Naruto, that's Lilith… that is Lilith,' Ino reminded herself. As she wiped the tears from her eyes. As she took in a deep breath, Ino froze upon feeling a hand falling on her shoulder. Her eyes opened wide… her body trembled for a seconds before she realized something. The feeling of the hand on her shoulder was warm, it wasn't cold… it wasn't like the horrible feeling in the room.

And then things started to change. Everything around her seemed to melt away to be replaced by a field of green, an unknown village in the distance from where she could hear the sounds of children playing and people going about their business. Ino had no control over her body, it was like her previous visions where she was simply a passenger. The hand on her shoulder gently turned her around – she found that she was on a hill beneath a giant thick trunked tree – and she came face to face with the man in her other vision… the man who looked so much like Naruto that it was eerie.

" _Akashi."_ Ino felt the smile on her face as her lips moved; lips she wasn't controlling as butterflies formed in her belly and her heart raced at seeing the man. Ino felt warmth take over as the man then placed a hand on her cheek before she said, _"mother said you wanted to see me."_

'I am seeing things through Reana's eyes,' Ino thought to herself as she recalled her previous vision where the woman was killed by Lilith, 'but why? What is our connection?'

" _And she was hiding something from me,_ " Ino spoke as Reana to Akashi who was grinning while rubbing the back of his head with his free hand, _"and don't deny it. I know my mother both as my mother and as the Supreme General of the Uzu armed forces; she was hiding something from me, Commander Akashi. And I will know what it is."_

Akashi chuckled before he moved the hand on Reana's cheek down to her left hip. Ino felt her hand move to gently land on his right shoulder. He placed his other hand on her other hip and took in a deep breath.

" _Someone looks nervous,"_ Reana said playfully as she ran her other hand through Akashi's blonde hair.

Akashi then gulped before taking a deep breath, " _a little nervous, but for a good reason."_ Ino could feel Reana's heart racing even faster in anticipation of her desire to know what had Akashi so nervous.

" _Akashi?"_

" _I love you,"_ Akashi said with a nervous smile as Ino felt a wide smile form on her face before she looked away. She felt her cheeks heating up as he continued, _"I loved you ever since we were kids."_

'What are you saying?' Ino thought to herself as Reana raised her head back up and locked eyes with him. Reana then spoke, _"Akashi, I love you too."_

Akashi then gently pulled her in close until their bodies were pressed together and their noses were nearly touching one another.

" _Marry me,"_ he whispered with nervousness in his eyes. Ino was stunned… she could feel that Reanna was about to open her mouth when Akashi spoke again, " _Commander Izumi Reana."_ Reana, watched as he went down on both knees while looking up at her. She placed her hands over her mouth in surprise as he continued, _"I, Commander Uzuna Akashi, ask for your hand in marriage."_ Ino just watched in disbelief. Ino stared at Akashi looking up at her through the eyes of someone who was a stranger to her as her head nodded in acceptance.

Akashi was laughing as he stood up quickly before pulling Reana in close. Their arms around each other, Akashi then picked Reana up and spun her around; the latter laughing as she was spun around. After a few seconds, Akashi stopped spinning her and leaned in for a kiss. Just before their lips touched, Ino heard him say _, "I'll love you forever."_

" _And I you,"_ Reana whispered before their lips touched. Ino could feel warmth all around her as she tried to pull her mind away, but she could not. She felt as if she was intruding on a private moment. She could feel Akashi's lips pressed against Reanna's, she could feel Reanna's hand on the back of his head while her other hand lay on his back between his shoulder blades. Ino could feel at ease with Akashi, but she also knew it wasn't her feelings… it was Reanna's. And having Reanna's feelings coursing through her forced Ino to remember her failed relationships; her first was Sai… she wanted to go out with him because he looked so much like Sasuke. But when she did, there wasn't any electricity between them at a romantic level. Even after three dates, there was nothing. She didn't know if it was her own petty grievance of not landing Sasuke himself that was putting her off from Sai. But in the end, she didn't want to string him along; however the two remained ood frineds. Then there was another shinobi who worked for T&I, the two of them dated for a month before he broke it off with her. There would be four other failed relationships – one guy discovered he liked other guys while they were out clubbing, another guy cheated on her after they were going out for three months, another one was a civilian who happened to be an obsessive Team Seven fan, and the fourth one was one she would later discover happened to be an ardent stalker who had a shrine in his closet that was devoted to her.

Sighing to herself, Ino wondered to herself why she hadn't asked Naruto out on a date. After all, she knew the blonde wasn't going to ask her out. But then again, the Konoha Twelve knew how much regret he had about not returning Hinata's feelings when she was alive. In the end, Ino didn't think he would want to go out with her… it was just a feeling she had and so Ino decided to just let the cards fall where they may.

Her thoughts returned to the here and now when Reanna and Akashi parted their lips, theirs arms still around each other. Reanna then whispered, _"so you asked my mother?"_

" _And she said Yes,"_ Akashi answered with an excited tone.

" _And if she said no?"_ Reana asked with her eyebrow arched upwards and a smirk on her face.

Ino couldn't help but blush when Akashi answered with a kiss on Reanna's lips before pulling back and saying, _"then she'll be really pissed off when I'd ask you to marry me anyway."_ The two were about to kiss again when the ground shuddered and there was a brilliant explosion of blue and red light in the distance. The two closed their eyes and looked away while hearing the sounds of yells and bells ordering the return of soldiers to the village. When the light faded away, Reana and Akashi opened their eyes and looked towards the direction of the brilliant light… and she felt fear. She felt evil in the air… she felt darkness emanating from the distance.

" _It's from the mainland,"_ Akashi said before looking at Reanna _, "we need to get back to the village."_

Reanna nodded her head – Ino felt her lips curl upwards before Reana leaned in to kiss Akashi once again. They two of them parted before rushing back towards the village. Suddenly, Ino gasped before finding herself back under the bright lights of the hallway. She could hear footsteps rushing towards her, along with Tsunade's voice yelling out, "Ino!"

Ino shook her head, the vision she experienced still fresh in her mind, before turning towards the rushing Tsunade and Shizune.

"Ino, are you alright?" Shizune asked once she reached Ino's side and crouched down.

"Why are you sitting out here?" Tsunade asked with concern in her voice as Shizune helped Ino to her feet; her still trembling feet at the thought of what she experienced in Naruto's room. However, Ino mentally told herself to control her emotions… she was a Kunoichi who needed to be present so that she could help. No matter how frightened she was feeling.

Ino then told in another deep breath, turned her head towards the door, and then looked back at the concern expression on Tsunade and Shizune's face. Ino then recounted, in a calm voice, what happened… from the dark atmosphere in the room to her vision after having run out into the hallway. Shizune listened in surprise while Tsunade was rubbing her chin as she shifted her eyes from Ino to the closed door.

"Ino," Tsunade whispered as she stared at the door with a cool expression on her face, "I want you to go home and then rest. I…"

"Tsunade-sama, Naruto's my friend and… and I'm not leaving him."

Ino stood steady while her heart was racing as she tried to push aside the memory of Naruto sitting on the bed and staring at her with black eyes. Immediately, her mind went back to the kiss Reana shared with Akashi and she felt warm and at ease. Her thoughts then turned to Sakura, Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, and the others as she started to feel more at ease. She didn't know what to make of this as she turned her head towards the door and then back to Tsunade. The Sannin then said, "you need rest. Shizune and I will stay here and keep Naruto company"

"Tsunade-sama," Ino said, "I… I'll go change and then return." Before Tsunade could say anything, Ino spoke. She was afraid to go back into that room… in fact she was afraid to be in the hospital. In fact, there was a voice in the back of her head telling her to run out of the building and never come back. But Naruto was her friend too… true they weren't as close as he was with Sasuke and Sakura, or Shikamaru and Choji. But they were still friends, there was no animosity there between herself and Naruto… and it was because of that she took in a deep breath and mentally told herself that she would return after a shower, "I'll get a bed in one of the unused rooms. I… I just want to stay close." Ino also suspected that the others such as Sakura and Sasuke would be staying close by, and she wanted to stay close in case they wanted to talk to her about what she had seen in her visions.

Tsunade then nodded her head before pulsing her chakra. Ino watched an Anbu appear from a puff of smoke and falling leaves before the former Hokage said, "Raven, accompany Ino to her home. Stay close to her until she returns to the hospital."

"Understood, Tsunade-sama," the Raven masked Anbu said as he placed a hand on Ino's left shoulder, "are you ready, Ino-san?"

Ino nodded her head just as she watched Tsunade grab the door lever. She then said, "be careful, Tsunade-sama… Shizune-san." And then she was gone after Tsunade and Shizune nodded their heads. Tsunade opened the door, and then walked into the room followed by Shizune.

The door was then closed shut.

TBC.


End file.
